Malignant mesothelioma has proven to be particularly resistant to the impact of traditional cancer protocols, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy. As a result, researchers around the world have focused on finding both alternatives to these approaches and ways that would help to make them more effective.
A recent article published in the journal Scientific Reports reveals that Swiss scientists believe they have found one such method, using a metal-based compound to make mesothelioma tumors more vulnerable to the use of the one chemotherapy drug combination that has been FDA-approved for the treatment of the asbestos-related disease.
The substance that the Swiss mesothelioma researchers are investigating is called RAPTA-T. It is a compound based on a metal in the same group on the periodic table as platinum is.
The team from Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland gave it to laboratory animals that had been implanted with mesothelioma tumors, they found that the tumors experienced improved blood flow and oxygenation.
Though it may seem counterintuitive to make malignant tumors healthier, what the researchers discovered was that in doing so, they facilitated the delivery of the chemotherapy drug that the animals were dosed with afterwards, and this made it possible for the drug to have an impact.
The tumors responded to the toxin better than they had prior to exposure to RAPTA-T, and their growth was significantly slowed.
Writing of their findings, mesothelioma researcher and first author Tina Riedel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology penned, “RAPTA-T pre-treatment followed by the application of cisplatin…leads to increased levels of the cytotoxin in the tumor and enhanced mesothelioma growth inhibition.
These findings suggest novel therapeutic implications for RAPTA-T to create conditions for superior drug uptake and efficacy.”
Staying aware of the innovations in mesothelioma research requires constant attention, and the dedicated Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net know that you don’t have the time to invest in the face of dealing with your disease. We are here to provide you with the information you need. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
