Medical professionals may now be able to give a more accurate prognosis to patients with mesothelioma than ever before.

Research is ongoing to find better ways to diagnose and treat mesothelioma. For example, one study recently published by Italian scientists demonstrates that the presence of a protein called placental growth factor (PlGF) can actually help determine both the prognosis and the best course of treatment for mesothelioma patients.

What is PIGF?

PIGF is a protein normally found in very high levels in both the cells of developing placentas and in mesothelioma cells. It seems to have an influence on the survival of malignant tumors.

PlGF is also related to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which has been shown to encourage the growth of new blood vessels. These blood vessels can also feed tumors.

Not only can stopping the development of the VEGF induced blood vessels slow down the growth of tumors relying on the new blood vessels to provide it nutrients, a better prognosis can now be predicted since the studies also show that higher PlGF levels in mesothelioma patients resulted in shorter survival time after invasive surgery, and lower levels of the same protein indicated longer survival times.

While there is no cure for mesothelioma, PlGF shows promise as a diagnostic tool to determine the prognosis of mesothelioma patients, as well as a potential avenue for new mesothelioma treatments.

Researchers and scientists in Greece have announced results of a single institution Phase II study which tested a new possible treatment for mesothelioma. There was encouraging success according to a recently publicized report.

Researchers from the Athens University School of Medicine in Greece tested the effectiveness of gemcitabine plus docetaxel as a chemotherapy option.

Standard treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma is combinations of Alimta (permetrexed) and Cisplatin (gemcitabine). This study was to examine the efficacy of the new combination Cisplatin (gemcitabine) and Taxotere (docetaxel) in the first-line setting. This combination has not been investigated before.

Of the twenty-five patients who suffer from malignant pleural mesothelioma and participated in the trial, seven responded to the treatment. They received 80 mg of docetaxel and 1,000 mg of gemcitabine on days 1 and 4 of a 28-day cycle.

The treatment was scheduled for a maximum of 6 cycles or until the disease showed signs of progression or unacceptable toxicity became present. These seven patients’ tumors shrunk in size. For fourteen of the patients there was no change in tumor size and the remaining four patients had tumors increase in size.

The researchers concluded the administration of gemcitabine and docetaxel appears to be promising first-line therapy for patients with mesothelioma. It is well tolerated and appears to improve survival.

Washington University is presently studying the use of bee venom in small amounts for treating certain cancers. Even more interesting is the way the venom is delivered.

Using nanotechnology, researchers are studying the affect of melittin, a toxin found in bee venom, on cancer tumor cells. The melittin would normally cause death to blood and tissue cells whether healthy or cancerous. However, by using nanoparticles, called “nanobees”, only the tumor cells are targeted, leaving the healthy tissue alone.

Nanotechnology is becoming more supported throughout the medical community because of its potential to customize a patient’s treatment. Presently this technology is being studied for breast cancer and ovarian cancer treatments; prostate cancer clinical trials are expected to begin later this year.

It is the hope of researchers that nanotechnology can be proven effective in the treatment of pervasive cancers such as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is an aggressive asbestos cancer, and getting appropriate treatment is critical. For more information, check out our mesothelioma treatment pages, or contact one of our mesothelioma family advocates .