Anti-angiogenesis Drugs and Mesothelioma

Experimental Option for Treatment of Mesothelioma Patients

Oct 20, 2009 David Harris-Gershon

Malignant mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure, is difficult to cure using chemotherapy. For this reason, many new treatment options are being explored.

Developments in the treatment of mesothelioma patients are ongoing, and include many new and experimental treatments which attack mesothelioma tumors and malignant cells without the use of chemotherapy. One such treatment currently being researched concerns the use of anti-angiogenesis drugs on mesothelioma tumors.

What is Angiogenesis, and How Does it Apply to Mesothelioma Tumors?

In its most basic definitional form, angiogenesis is the production of new blood vessels. Basic anatomy and human biology teach that, as the human body grows, so too does the need for new vessels and arteries, as living parts of the body require an oxygenated blood flow for survival.

This is no different for mesothelioma tumors, which require new networks of blood vessels for continued growth and survival. This is where anti-angiogenesis drugs come in regarding the treatment of mesothelioma patients, a process detailed in the next section.

Treatment of Mesothelioma - New Anti-angiogenesis Drug Therapy

Researchers are currently using anti-angiogenesis drugs in targeting the creation of blood vessels to mesothelioma tumors. In short, the hope is that such drugs will inhibit the growth of blood vessels in mesothelioma patients to the malignant mesothelioma tumors growing within their bodies (often in the lungs, a result of prolonged asbestos exposure).

Research and trials using anti-angiogenesis drugs on several types of untreatable cancers have been ongoing, and Mesothelioma Web writes that "researchers are currently studying both natural and synthetic anti-angiogenesis inhibitors, and although many of these drugs are still available only in clinical trials, the first anti-angiogenesis drug, bevacizumab (Avastin), was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (in February, 2004) for use in the treatment of metastatic colon cancer. A Phase II clinical trial of cisplatin, pemetrexed and bevacizumabfor untreated mesothelioma and a Phase II trial of bevacizumab and erlotinib for previously treated mesothelioma" continue in mesothelima trials that are ongoing.

How Anti-angiogenensis Drugs Target Mesothelioma Tumors

Malignant mesothelioma cancer cells and the vascular networks they need for survival are built by a number of essential proteins. According to Mesothelioma Web, "One of the most important proteins in the growth of new blood vessels is called vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF, which is secreted by some cancer cells. It appears that VEGF plays an important role in the growth of mesothelioma. VEGF attaches to a protein, or VEGF receptor, on the surface of nearby endothelial cells, and then signals the cell’s control centers to begin growth and formation of new blood vessels."

Several of the anti-angiogenesis drugs being used in clinical trials have been found to target VEGF pathways and inhibit VEGF receptors. While anti-angiogenesis drugs have yet to be developed as a proven treatment of mesothelioma patients, research is ongoing.

How Can I Get Anti-angiogenesis Drugs?

If you are a mesothelioma patient, and want to join a clinical trial using anti-angiogenesis drugs as a treatment for mesothelioma, it is advised that you consult your oncologist or primary doctor about such opportunities. Also, be sure to ask what the risks and side effects might be, as there are hundreds of anti-angiogenesis drugs currently being researched.

The copyright of the article Anti-angiogenesis Drugs and Mesothelioma in General Medicine is owned by David Harris-Gershon. Permission to republish Anti-angiogenesis Drugs and Mesothelioma in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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