The annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research presents an opportunity for mesothelioma researchers to share their most recent findings with their colleagues, and this year’s conference was no exception. A presentation by scientists from Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London in the United Kingdom revealed that the addition of pegargiminase to standard frontline chemotherapy improved outcomes in patients with non-epithelioid pleural mesothelioma.
Adding Pegargiminase to Chemotherapy Boosts Progression Free Survival in Mesothelioma Patients
Malignant mesothelioma is a notoriously aggressive form of cancer that has proven largely resistant to the effects of chemotherapy. The British researchers tested adding pegargiminase, a therapeutic protein that depletes circulating arginine, to chemotherapy in 249 patients with non-epithelioid pleural mesothelioma. None of the patients had received prior systemic therapy and most had not undergone surgery or radiation.
The mesothelioma patients enrolled in the study were randomly assigned to receive chemotherapy plus placebo or chemotherapy with weekly doses of pegargiminase and as maintenance for two years. Though the objective response rate in both groups was almost the same (13.5% in the placebo group and 13.8% in the pegargiminase group), the disease control rate in the pegargiminase group was higher by 8.7%, and at 9.3 months, the median overall survival time in the pegargiminase group was 1.6 months longer.
Despite Adverse Events, Researchers See Promise for Pegargiminase in Treating Mesothelioma
The rate of grade 3 or higher adverse events in the mesothelioma patients treated with pegargiminase was higher by 11.9% than in the placebo group, with the most common adverse effect blood and lymphatic system disorders. Despite this, the researchers are optimistic about the future of this treatment with Dr. Szlosarek noting, “Pegargiminase-based chemotherapy represents the first new anti-metabolite regimen based on arginine deprivation for the treatment of cancer, and further studies of pegargiminase are warranted in arginine-dependent cancers.”
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, small victories like that seen in this study can make a big difference. For information on other research breakthroughs, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
