The new genetic knowledge of
Mesothelioma
The new genetic knowledge of Mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare but deadly form of cancer. A five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with the disease is between five and ten percent. Although aggressive surgery may help some patients with early-stage mesothelioma, current treatment for patients with advanced mesothelioma is ineffective.
Doctors researchers from the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have been treating patients with mesothelioma for the past 25 years and in parallel studying disease in the laboratory to better understand biology and develop treatment strategies to target their vulnerability.
In a comprehensive genome analysis using more than 200 tumors, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and scientists from Genentech have discovered previously unknown genetic changes, including some that may be clinically applicable, as well as others that may improve diagnostics, screening and predictions about outcomes for patients. The team's results are published this week in Nature Genetics and are a new genetic knowledge for Mesothelioma.
"By studying so many samples, we can already describe the spectrum of mutations for this rare disease.These small numbers of mutations have been found previously in other cancers and drugs have been developed to target these mutations", says lead author Raphael Bueno, MD, Division head Surgical Toraks at BWH and co-director of BWH Lung Center. "No one knows before now that this mutation might also be found in mesothelioma tumors," said the new work shows that patients with these mutations can benefit from certain existing drugs.
In collaboration with his colleagues at Genentech, researchers analyzed 216 mesothelioma of malignant chest cavity (MPM) samples, comparing DNA and RNA from normal tissue to cancerous tissue. They found more than 2,500 changes and identified 10 genes significantly mutated.
They also capture information about the presence of immune cells at the site of the tumor. Some of the genetic changes they found suggest that targeted therapies, such as BCR-ABL-1 inhibitors, could be matched with patient tumors. Other changes and the presence of certain immune targets may serve as better markers to help pathologists accurately diagnose mesothelioma and predict patients will have poor or better results.
The study also analyzed tumors for PD-L1 expression, target cancer immunotherapy and found that sarcomatoid histology, a subtype of mesothelioma may be a good candidate for anti-PD-L1 therapy.
Every year more than 3,200 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma and the same number of people die from this disease every year about 80 percent of cases of mesothelioma are linked to asbestos exposure that continues to be mined and used in many countries including China, India, Brazil, Russia and others -other.
International Mesothelioma Program, one of the largest mesothelioma treatments and research programs in the world provides consultation and care for hundreds of newly diagnosed patients each year. Based on their findings, Bueno and colleagues see their patient genotypes in the clinic a process of finding genetic differences in the right locations in the genome as the next important step.
"If you have cancer that has a death rate of 80 to 90 percent within five years of diagnosis and you find evidence that a small percentage of people may have actionable mutations which means that you can reduce mortality," says Bueno. "Even for mutations occurring 1-2 percent of the time, it could mean the difference between life and death for patients." We plan to continue this important study through sponsored test investigators evaluating the potential use of cancer immunotherapy for treatment of mesothelioma.
The new genetic knowledge of Mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare but deadly form of cancer. A five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with the disease is between five and ten percent. Although aggressive surgery may help some patients with early-stage mesothelioma, current treatment for patients with advanced mesothelioma is ineffective.
Doctors researchers from the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have been treating patients with mesothelioma for the past 25 years and in parallel studying disease in the laboratory to better understand biology and develop treatment strategies to target their vulnerability.
In a comprehensive genome analysis using more than 200 tumors, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and scientists from Genentech have discovered previously unknown genetic changes, including some that may be clinically applicable, as well as others that may improve diagnostics, screening and predictions about outcomes for patients. The team's results are published this week in Nature Genetics and are a new genetic knowledge for Mesothelioma.
"By studying so many samples, we can already describe the spectrum of mutations for this rare disease.These small numbers of mutations have been found previously in other cancers and drugs have been developed to target these mutations", says lead author Raphael Bueno, MD, Division head Surgical Toraks at BWH and co-director of BWH Lung Center. "No one knows before now that this mutation might also be found in mesothelioma tumors," said the new work shows that patients with these mutations can benefit from certain existing drugs.
In collaboration with his colleagues at Genentech, researchers analyzed 216 mesothelioma of malignant chest cavity (MPM) samples, comparing DNA and RNA from normal tissue to cancerous tissue. They found more than 2,500 changes and identified 10 genes significantly mutated.
They also capture information about the presence of immune cells at the site of the tumor. Some of the genetic changes they found suggest that targeted therapies, such as BCR-ABL-1 inhibitors, could be matched with patient tumors. Other changes and the presence of certain immune targets may serve as better markers to help pathologists accurately diagnose mesothelioma and predict patients will have poor or better results.
The study also analyzed tumors for PD-L1 expression, target cancer immunotherapy and found that sarcomatoid histology, a subtype of mesothelioma may be a good candidate for anti-PD-L1 therapy.
Every year more than 3,200 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma and the same number of people die from this disease every year about 80 percent of cases of mesothelioma are linked to asbestos exposure that continues to be mined and used in many countries including China, India, Brazil, Russia and others -other.
International Mesothelioma Program, one of the largest mesothelioma treatments and research programs in the world provides consultation and care for hundreds of newly diagnosed patients each year. Based on their findings, Bueno and colleagues see their patient genotypes in the clinic a process of finding genetic differences in the right locations in the genome as the next important step.
"If you have cancer that has a death rate of 80 to 90 percent within five years of diagnosis and you find evidence that a small percentage of people may have actionable mutations which means that you can reduce mortality," says Bueno. "Even for mutations occurring 1-2 percent of the time, it could mean the difference between life and death for patients." We plan to continue this important study through sponsored test investigators evaluating the potential use of cancer immunotherapy for treatment of mesothelioma.