Malignant mesothelioma is an extremely aggressive disease, and physicians and researchers have struggled to find effective treatments. Once diagnosed, patients rarely live longer than a year-and-a-half. But patients enrolled in a clinical trial in the United Kingdom are experiencing significant benefits, with some living more than five years.
Clinical Trial of Abemaciclib Extending Mesothelioma Survival
The drug that has shown such success in managing malignant mesothelioma is called abemaciclib. It works by helping the body produce a cancer-fighting protein. According to noted mesothelioma researcher Professor Dean Fennell of Leicester University, “This new treatment has shown promise in halting the progress of and, in some cases, reversing the growth of the cancer for patients who aren’t responding to chemotherapy or immunotherapy drugs. This can add precious months to their lives and allow them to live without so much pain.”
Fennell says that each of the participating mesothelioma patients took two abemaciclib tablets a day for 24 weeks. Despite the fact that the aggressive form of cancer’s tumors generally grow very quickly and it was expected that many patients would die within the test’s initial time period, 23 percent experienced no additional tumor growth during treatment.
Mesothelioma Patient Feels “Great” After Treatment
Sixty-five-year-old David Squires is one of the mesothelioma patients enrolled in the clinical trial. Exposed to asbestos as a teen, he was diagnosed with the disease in 2019 and quickly entered a clinical trial testing two cancer-fighting drugs. When those drugs failed to stop his tumors’ growth, he switched to the abemaciclib trial.
His mesothelioma tumors have been under control ever since. He has been taking the drug for a year and expects to remain on it for another eight months. Speaking of his experience he said, “I know others with mesothelioma who lasted less than six months after being diagnosed. I’m playing golf most days and my handicap’s lower than before I became ill – I feel great.”
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help connect you with facilities offering state-of-the-art treatment. Call us today at 1-800-692-8608.
