Following the death of her husband, Karen Witney began campaigning for more detailed drug trial information to be released to patients by Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals in UK. Mrs. Witney’s husband, Andy Witney, had died after a five-year battle with rare cancer mesothelioma. Mr. Witney had participated in three drug trials during his fight with mesothelioma, none greatly benefiting his health. Following his third and final drug trial, Mr. Witney experienced sudden painful side effects, including loss of use of his legs, and died twelve days later.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of lung lining and lining of other abdominal cavities. It is caused by asbestos fibers inhaled or ingested into the body. Mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period, often spanning several decades, and a short life expectancy following diagnosis. Although there are many mesothelioma treatments available, there is no known cure for mesothelioma.

Mrs. Witney helped to nurse and care for her husband during his last days in hospital. In light of her husband’s sudden death, Mrs. Witney believes patients and their families are not given enough information about drug trials to make an informed decision. Now, her campaigning has finally paid off. Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust has published an informational pamphlet covering details of drug trials and possible side effects.

Mrs. Witney has mixed feelings about the pamphlet. She said, “So many people suffer inadequate care within the NHS [National Health Service], not only patients but also dedicated nursing staff, due to poor management, an inability on the part of the decision makers to admit they are sometimes wrong, and the curtain of secrecy in which they like to cloak themselves when dealing with anything they find unpalatable, in the hope it will eventually disappear.

“I want to thank everyone at the Oxford Mail for the huge support they gave me at a time when I struggled to get up each morning let alone find the strength to battle with a pretty formidable opponent.

“I am extremely pleased that at last something concrete has appeared, but sadly a little skeptical as to how well the leaflet will be presented to trials patients.

“The reason for my skepticism is that this simple piece of paper has taken a ridiculously long time to produce and I feel it has been completed with some reluctance as I have been constantly fobbed off throughout this time.”

The 1st International Symposium on Lung-Sparing Therapies for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma has been concluded in Santa Monica, CA. While gathered together for a time of sharing knowledge and gathering data, doctors, physicians and surgeons came to a unanimous decision regarding radical treatment of pleural mesothelioma.

In decades past extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) has been a common option in mesothelioma treatment, in spite of its 60% complication rate. An EPP consists of removing not only malignant mesothelioma tumors from patients, but the most affected lung, all affected lymph nodes and surrounding tissue, parts of the heart lining and diaphragm. Considered radical, unnecessary and not in the patient’s best interests, UK medical practices discontinued use of EPP in years past.  During the symposium UK and US mesothelioma surgeries were studied; medical officials present also decided EPP is not the best choice for mesothelioma treatment.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer affecting protective linings of abdominal cavities, most often lung lining. Caused by toxic chemical asbestos, mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period and a short, painful life expectancy following diagnosis. About three thousand Americans, and an estimated twenty thousand people worldwide, suffer with mesothelioma each year.

Director of UCLA Mesothelioma Research Program and symposium chairman, Dr. Robert B. Cameron, said, “The information presented at this Symposium makes an incredibly strong statement that surgical removal of the lung for treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma should no longer be performed anywhere in the world, just like it has been abandoned already in the U.K.”

Dr. Cameron communicated that experts at the symposium decidedly suggest pleurectomies as the “preferred surgical procedure.” A pleurectomy is a surgical procedure in which as many tumors and affected tissues are removed without removing or damaging the organs. Patient recovery, pain management and extended life expectancy are common goals of pleurectomies.

A group of Austrian researchers have been testing chemotherapy drug temsirolimus, currently used for kidney cancer, on malignant mesothelioma. Temsirolimus is a kinase inhibitor; it targets and blocks the functions of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a vital protein regulating cell growth. In cases of kidney cancer, temsirolimus has stopped or greatly slowed malignant tumor growth.

Although results of temsirolimus on mesothelioma cancer cells are showing similarities to those of kidney cancer cells, there is a draw back. Tests show malignant mesothelioma cells resistant to commonly used chemotherapy drug, cisplatin, to be even more resistant to temsirolimus. This led researchers to suggest temsirolimus as a second-line treatment for mesothelioma, or a drug to be used in combination with other first-line treatments.

Mesothelioma treatments are commonly given in combination. Standard procedures include surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These may be administered in cancer-direct form, attempting to eradicate the malignant cells from the patient body, or as palliative treatment in an effort to raise patient quality of life and extend life expectancy.

Mesothelioma is characterized by a short life expectancy following diagnosis, averaging eighteen months. Mesothelioma is caused by fibers of toxic chemical asbestos, which, if inhaled, begin a cancerous development in lung lining and lining of other abdominal cavities.

Professor Walter Berger, PhD, of the Institute of Cancer Research at the Medical University of Vienna says this about rare cancer mesothelioma: “Malignant mesothelioma is a severe human malignancy characterized by a very bad prognosis, with a mean patient survival time of less than one year. This unacceptable situation is mainly caused by late diagnosis combined with a distinct resistance to all forms of systemic therapy available so far. Mesothelioma is frequently caused by asbestos exposure and unfortunately — based on the long latency period — the incidence peak lies, despite the ban on asbestos, still ahead. Consequently, novel therapeutic options for this devastative disease are urgently needed.”

Results and findings of the Austrian study were published in May’s issue of Journal of Thoracic Oncology. Berger said of the study: “In our preclinical study, published in the JTO, we were able to demonstrate that inhibition of the major oncogene mTOR is active against human mesothelioma especially after development of chemotherapy resistance both in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest the initiation of clinical trials involving mTOR inhibitors as a novel anti-mesothelioma strategy.”