New mesothelioma treatment to combat chemo-resistance to cisplatin

Chemotherapy is one of the most common types of treatment that fights the symptoms and avert the development of the mesothelioma cancer, as well as other types of cancer. However, most of the time, the tumors tend to fight off the effects of the drugs, thus, treatment becomes of no use at all. A recent study, however, can reveal the reason why cancer cells tend to resist cisplatin, a common chemotherapeutic agent. This finding can be very helpful in devising a brand-new treatment strategy not only for mesothelioma, but also for other types of cancers, that seemingly resist treatments.

Cisplatin is used together with other chemotherapy agents following surgery to slow down, if not prevent, the growth of the cancer, as well as to alleviate mesothelioma symptoms. However, Guido Kroemer, M.D., Ph.D., professor at University Paris Descartes in Paris, France reveals that a lot of patients would respond transiently to cisplatin therapy.

“Cancer cells develop ways to resist the effects of the drug,” he reveals

Dr. Kroemer has led a team of researcher to look for ways to boost the effectiveness of cisplatin. The team found out that mesothelioma and NSCLC cells that resist the drug had “high levels of the protein poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) and elevated amounts of poly (ADP-ribosyl) (PAR).”

To remedy this, the researchers to introduce PARP inhibitors to the cancerous cells. These inhibitors contain levels of hyperactivated PARP1 and PAR to trigger a “cellular process” that would eventually annihilate cancer cells, making it “an effective biomarker of response to cisplatin.”

A biomarker is an organic molecule present blood, tissues, and other forms of body fluids. It predicts the presence or even the absence, of a certain condition or disease, thus, making it very a helpful tool in diagnosing and treating mesothelioma.  Certain biomarkers  could led to developing a specific type of treatment that is suitable to the condition of the patient, thereby boosting his chances for successful treatment, and offering the patient the best possible type of cancer therapy.

Research findings show that the PARP inhibitors have profoundly altered and slowed down tumor growth in mice xenografted with human NSCLC cell lines.

Dr. Kroemer reports: “This has clear implications for new treatment regimens and for developing biomarkers of response to cisplatin. We are following up these exciting clinical possibilities in our laboratory.”

With more than 3,000 mesothelioma patients diagnosed every year, this novel finding is indeed a milestone in the mesothelioma research field. “Being able to offer a treatment that limits the resistance of the cancer cells to chemotherapy can mean the difference in extended survival for some mesothelioma patients,” writes Nancy Meredith of Mesothelioma Blog.