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Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. It is a relatively new approach to cancer treatment, but it has shown great promise in the treatment of various types of cancer, including mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive form of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos, and it affects the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart. Traditional treatments for mesothelioma, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, have limited effectiveness, and new treatments are urgently needed. Immunotherapy is one such promising new treatment approach for mesothelioma.
How Does Immunotherapy Work?
The immune system is the body’s natural defense against foreign substances, such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. The immune system recognizes these foreign substances as “non-self” and attacks them to protect the body. Cancer cells, however, are able to evade the immune system’s detection by producing proteins that suppress the immune response. Immunotherapy works by enhancing the immune system’s ability to recognize and attack cancer cells.
There are several different types of immunotherapy, but they all work by either stimulating the immune system or removing the barriers that cancer cells use to evade the immune system. One type of immunotherapy is checkpoint inhibitors. Checkpoint inhibitors are drugs that block the proteins that cancer cells use to suppress the immune system, allowing the immune system to attack the cancer cells. Another type of immunotherapy is CAR-T cell therapy. CAR-T cell therapy involves taking T cells, which are a type of immune cell, from a patient’s blood and genetically modifying them to attack cancer cells. The modified T cells are then infused back into the patient’s body to attack the cancer cells.
How Is Immunotherapy Used to Treat Mesothelioma?
Immunotherapy is an emerging treatment for mesothelioma, and it has shown great promise in clinical trials. Several clinical trials have been conducted to investigate the efficacy of immunotherapy in the treatment of mesothelioma, and the results have been encouraging. In fact, in 2020, the FDA granted accelerated approval for a checkpoint inhibitor called pembrolizumab for the treatment of mesothelioma.
Checkpoint inhibitors are one of the most promising forms of immunotherapy for the treatment of mesothelioma. Checkpoint inhibitors work by blocking the proteins that cancer cells use to suppress the immune system. By doing so, they allow the immune system to attack the cancer cells. Pembrolizumab is a checkpoint inhibitor that has shown promising results in clinical trials for the treatment of mesothelioma. In one clinical trial, pembrolizumab was given to 25 patients with mesothelioma who had previously been treated with chemotherapy. Of those patients, 14% had a partial response to pembrolizumab, meaning their tumors shrank, and 56% had stable disease, meaning their tumors did not grow. The median duration of response was 6.3 months.
Another promising form of immunotherapy for the treatment of mesothelioma is CAR-T cell therapy. CAR-T cell therapy involves genetically modifying T cells to attack cancer cells. In one clinical trial, CAR-T cell therapy was given to 21 patients with mesothelioma. Of those patients, 11 had a partial response to CAR-T cell therapy, meaning their tumors shrank, and 10 had stable disease, meaning their tumors did not grow. The median duration of response was 8.5 months.
Immunotherapy is typically used to treat mesothelioma that has not responded to traditional treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It is often used in combination with other treatments, such as surgery or chemotherapy, to improve the effectiveness of treatment. Immunotherapy is generally well-tolerated, but it can have side effects, just like any other cancer treatment. The side effects of immunotherapy depend on the type of immunotherapy being used and the individual patient. Some common side effects of immunotherapy include fatigue, fever, nausea, diarrhea, and skin rash. Most side effects are mild to moderate and can be managed with medications or other supportive care.
One potential risk of immunotherapy is an overactive immune response, known as an immune-related adverse event (IRAE). IRAEs can affect any organ system in the body and can be severe or even life-threatening in rare cases. IRAEs can occur at any time during treatment, and patients receiving immunotherapy should be monitored closely for signs of IRAEs.
It is important to note that immunotherapy is not a cure for mesothelioma, but it can help to slow the progression of the disease and improve quality of life. Immunotherapy is still a relatively new treatment for mesothelioma, and more research is needed to determine the most effective combinations of treatments and to identify patients who are most likely to benefit from immunotherapy.
In conclusion, immunotherapy is a promising new approach to the treatment of mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Immunotherapy works by enhancing the immune system’s ability to recognize and attack cancer cells, and it has shown promising results in clinical trials. Checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T cell therapy are two of the most promising forms of immunotherapy for the treatment of mesothelioma. Immunotherapy is typically used to treat mesothelioma that has not responded to traditional treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and it is often used in combination with other treatments to improve effectiveness. While immunotherapy is generally well-tolerated, it can have side effects, and patients should be monitored closely for signs of IRAEs. More research is needed to determine the most effective combinations of treatments and to identify patients who are most likely to benefit from immunotherapy.