Adding sirolimus to chemotherapy with cisplatin has been shown to be more effective against mesothelioma than cisplatin alone, say some researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. The study was conducted specifically in the hopes of uncovering a more effective treatment for the cancer, stating that “[it] sought to determine whether combination treatment with sirolimus and cisplatin would enhance cell death in malignant pleural mesothelioma.”

Sirolimus, a drug that was first discovered as a product of a certain bacterium in a soil sample taken from Easter Island, was originally developed as an inti-fungal and later adapted as a powerful immunosuppressant used to prevent organ rejection in patients receiving kidney transplants. Most recently the drug is being tested for its possible applications in the treatment of mesothelioma.

The immunosuppressant sirolimus is a powerful antiproliferative which can restrict cell growth and development as well as cell proliferation in certain circumstances. Sirolimus affects cell growth by inhibiting the mammalian target of rapamycin, or mTOR, a protein indicated in certain cell growth behaviors. Some researchers believe that mTOR could cause malignant cells to reproduce more aggressively, and that inhibiting mTOR could result in slower spread and easier treatment of some cancers.

The study consisted of incubating malignant pleural mesothelioma cells with sirolimus or cisplatin alone or in combination and analyzing the results. The effects of the drug combination were also analyzed in tumors with varying resistance to the drug cisplatin. The drug combination substantially increased cell death in comparison to either drug used alone.

The results of the study were definitely positive, and may lead to the development of more effective mesothelioma treatments. The study stated that:

“Sirolimus appears to enhance the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines through the mammalian target of rapamycin pathway. These results provide a basis for the clinical evaluation of combined sirolimus and cisplatin chemotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma.”

Research continues to fully understand the implications of these findings. Scientists across the world continue to study new ways to combat mesothelioma, and every new discovery provides new hope for mesothelioma patients and their families alike.

An overview of the study can be found here.

Several new studies are confirming an existing sentiment in the mesothelioma research community. Many physicians have believed for some time that the most successful mesothelioma treatment regiments include several different forms of therapy.

Cancer treatments often include one or more of three different types of treatment: surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. While the specifics of individual cases vary, generally, surgery is required to remove malignant tumors and tissues while radiation or chemotherapy are used to accomplish and maintain remission of the cancer. Treatment centers have often found that combinations of surgical, chemical and radiation therapy tend to produce the best results, and now, new studies are confirming those beliefs.

One such study was published in the European Journal of Surgical Oncology. The study analyzed the results of surgery performed in concert with chemotherapy in seventeen different patients suffering from peritoneal mesothelioma, that is, a form of the cancer found in the abdominal cavity rather than the lungs. The researcher’s findings confirmed a common sentiment in the mesothelioma treatment community, stating that “Cytoreductive surgery combined with intraperitoneal chemotherapy appears to be the optimal treatment for selected patients with peritoneal mesothelioma… …Increased familiarity with this condition’s presentation and natural history, and knowledge of available treatment options, will hopefully facilitate treatment of these patients.” In summary, the study concludes that surgery in combination with chemotherapy tend to show better results than any single form of treatment.

Another study recently completed in Victoria, Australia, introduced a new form of radiotherapy but still concluded that combination treatments yielded the most encouraging results. While the new radiotherapy treatment has shown great potential in treating various forms of mesothelioma, the CEO of the Cancer Council of Australia, Ian Olver, said in regards to the study, “I think it’s an important finding that radiation has a useful role along with other therapies, not so much on its own, so they’ve really found the niche for radiotherapy in this disease.”

As public recognition of mesothelioma and its diagnoses continue to rise, the understanding of its effective treatment is growing. The aforementioned advances in radiotherapy could potentially grant another few years of life to mesothelioma patients, and research in the field of newer, more effective treatments continues to grow.