The medical journal Cancer, Chemotherapy and Pharmacology has published a report of Japanese researchers testing new drug, S-1, for possible use against pleural mesothelioma. Although it is a rare cancer, mesothelioma has no cure and is estimated to cause fifteen to twenty thousand deaths each year around the world.
Mesothelioma is caused by toxic chemical asbestos, which continues to be used around the world in building and construction. Many countries, including the US have all but discontinued asbestos use and enforce strict regulations pertaining to its use and removal.
With a typical latency period ranging from twenty to fifty years, mesothelioma cases will continue to rise until asbestos use has been totally discontinued for decades. The World Health Organization estimates an approaching ninety-thousand mesothelioma cases annually if asbestos use patterns are not drastically changed. With no known mesothelioma cure, new treatments are welcomed by mesothelioma victims and their families.
S-1 is an anti-tumor drug used on gastric cancer in Japan, Korea, China and other Asian countries. Although is it currently not available for use in the US, S-1 has been recommended for approval to treat gastric cancer in Europe. Developed by Taiho Pharmaceutical Company, S-1 is known by its brand name Teysuno.
Current mesothelioma treatments consist of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and palliative treatments for patients choosing to focus on quality of life rather than cancer-direct treatments. Mesothelioma is often diagnosed quite late in its development; life expectancy following diagnosis is short, ranging from six months to five years. Mesothelioma is characterized by irregularly patterned tumors throughout the lung lining and lining of other abdominal cavities. Pleural mesothelioma is specifically the cancer in lung lining, while peritoneal mesothelioma refers to the same cancer affecting linings of other abdominal cavities. Although both are rare cancers, pleural mesothelioma is the more common of the two.
S-1 was developed to prevent cancer tumor growth as well as to support another anti-cancer medication, 5-FU. In the study of S-1, lab mice received mesothelioma cells in their chest cavities, which were allowed to develop for quite some time before test treatments. This wait was to simulate the typical late stage at which human mesothelioma patients began treatments. It was reported that the mice responded well to S-1, which reduced their cancer growth and prolonged their survival times.
Researchers of the study concluded that S-1 is promising as a possible good drug to use against pleural mesothelioma.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 at 9:30 AM and is filed under General, News, Treatments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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