Research Shows Cisplatin is Superior Choice for HIPEC Treatment of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

HIPEC, or hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, has long been the gold standard for the treatment of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, but that doesn’t mean that its use can’t be improved upon. A recent study published in the journal Nature has yielded significant findings about which chemotherapy drug is most effective, the impact of heat on HIPEC’s effectiveness, and on the use of laboratory-generated mesothelioma tumors for clinical studies.

tumor growth

Mesothelioma Tumors Created from Patient Cells

Because malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is such a rare condition, researchers from Wake Forest’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine utilized patient-derived tumor organides to conduct their study. These organides were fabricated from cells collected from patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC. 

The researchers noted that they have previously reported on the feasibility of using these laboratory-generated mesothelioma tumors for pre-clinical studies, and in this application they found that they were able to use them to great effect, identifying treatment responses that were fulsome enough that they were even able to distinguish between mesothelioma tumors created from cells taken from anatomically distinct sites, and from individual patients. This success will prove helpful for future research.

Cisplatin Found to be Superior to Mitomycin C in Treating Peritoneal Mesothelioma

The researchers were able to generate 17 patient-derived mesothelioma tumor organides from seven patients, and used them to compare the effectiveness of both cisplatin and mitomycin C at both body temperature of 37 degrees centigrade and at a heated temperature of 42 degrees centigrade. They found that both chemotherapy drugs were more effective at killing the malignant cells when heated, but that heated cisplatin displayed the greatest toxicity.

Closer examination of their results found that the peritoneal mesothelioma cells that had metastasized to different parts of the body varied in their response to the different treatments, with implants from cells derived from the colon highly sensitive to both normal and heated cisplatin and mitomycin C, while cells derived from the ovary only sensitive to heated cisplatin. The researchers noted that the patient-derived tumor organides can potentially help optimize HIPEC use for individual patients.

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help you find the resources you need. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.

Terri Heimann Oppenheimer

Terri Oppenheimer

Writer
Terri Heimann Oppenheimer is the head writer of our Mesothelioma.net news blog. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in English. Terri believes that knowledge is power and she is committed to sharing news about the impact of mesothelioma, the latest research and medical breakthroughs, and victims’ stories.

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