Mesothelioma Treament Uses Common Cold Virus

Jan. 31, 2012 - PRLog -- The average survival rate from a confirmed diagnosis of advanced stage mesothelioma is between 4 to 12 months. To date, there is still no cure for the fatal and incurable malignant tumours caused by the ingestion of asbestos fibres, which can take between 15 to 50 years before asbestosis symptoms appear after first exposure.

This is despite of recent advances in combined surgical, radiotherapy and palliative asbestosis treatments, which have helped to increase an individual patient’s life by possibly one to two months only. Currently, there is a three year limit, within which to make a mesothelioma claim.

Medical researchers in the US have also recently looked at immunotherapy – using the body’s own immune system – often considered one of the most powerful methods to combat disease, in a bid to fight the mesothelioma cancer cells. A new approach involves injecting mesothelioma patients with a virus normally associated with the common cold. The virus is  modified to deliver a higher protein level of immune system stimulant to boost the body’s ability to fight off viral infection.

It was observed that almost all of the mesothelioma patients with varying stages of the disease began producing anti-tumour antibodies after receiving the modified virus injected directly into their chest cavities. While just under half of the patients with the most advanced mesothelioma showed no signs of improvement, there was evidence of disease stability or even tumour regression in the remainder of the test group.

In one ‘significant’ case’ there was even a partial tumour regression detected some distance away from the original injection site. None of the patients experienced any major side effects from the treatment.

It is because there are currently very few effective treatments for advanced stage mesothelioma, that it is considered vitally important for researchers to be able to demonstrate radiographic and biochemical evidence of clinical anti-tumour activity in at least some study patients. Consequently, the responses reported for the modified ‘common cold’ virus treatment are thought notable as there are no proven second or third stage agents for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma.

The new ‘virus’ immunotherapy approach is now also being tested in combination with chemotherapy for early stage mesothelioma. Detecting the early stages of mesothelioma development has been crucial in improved treatment to survival ratios. The new research could have considerable implications for the many thousands of men and women who were originally exposed to asbestos by up to 40 years previously.

A persistent problem is that asbestos-related disease remains undetected for such a long time, it often leads to possible early signs being confused and misdiagnosed as other common ailments, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, or respiratory disease as a consequence of cigarette smoking.

However, if correctly diagnosed earlier and then intensively treated, about half of mesothelioma sufferers can expect to live for around two years, and a fifth surviving for five years.

Visit http://www.asbestosvictimadvice.com for more information and advice.

# # #

Offering clear information, advice and FAQ's on mesothelioma and asbestos related illnesses.

Visit http://www.asbestosvictimadvice.com for more information and advice.