The search for a cure for malignant mesothelioma takes several different paths. Some researchers investigate the impact of specific medications, while physicians work to find better techniques and combinations of protocols to slow or stop the aggressive cancer’s progress. Still others are working to find what drives the development of asbestos-related cancer after exposure to the toxic material. Scientists from Fox Chase Cancer Center believe they are one step closer in that investigation.
Scientists Working with Lab Animals Find Heightened Risk of Developing Mesothelioma After Asbestos Exposure
Speaking to attendees at the American Association for Cancer Research’s 2024 meeting, Dr. Joseph Testa and Dr, Yuwaraj Kariya of Fox Chase Cancer Center revealed that their test of mice with BAP1 germline mutations had significantly increased susceptibility to the development of malignant mesothelioma after even minimal exposure to chrysotile asbestos.
Their results, which were also posted online in the AACR journal Cancer Research Communications, point to chrysotile asbestos – the type that was recently banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – as the catalyst that combines with the BAP1 germline mutation to increase the risk of mesothelioma developing. Chrysotile represents approximately 95% of the asbestos in commercial use today.
Study Reveals Role of Chrysotile Asbestos in Mesothelioma
For years, the asbestos industry has argued that chrysotile asbestos does not cause mesothelioma or lung cancer, asserting that where exposure to chrysotile has been linked to disease, it’s been the result of its combination with other types of asbestos. The Fox Chase study contradicts that theory. According to co-author Joseph Testa, the Carol & Kenneth E. Weg Chair in Human Genetics and Chief of Genomic Medicine at Fox Chase, “We wanted to test low levels of chrysotile and crocidolite and see whether they could cause mesothelioma in either normal mice or mice that had an inherited mutation of the BAP1 gene.”
The researchers found that BAP1 mutation carriers were susceptible to the development of mesothelioma and other carcinogenic effects no matter whether they were exposed to crocidolite or chrysotile, and even at minimal amounts of exposure. Importantly, they also found that the mice with the BAP1 mutation also developed microenvironments that evade immune surveillance, suggesting that immunotherapy targeting the BAP1 pathway may provide those patients with greater benefit.
Research like this supports future cures for mesothelioma. For information on accessing care or other resources, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
