Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that spreads aggressively from the lining of the lungs or abdominal cavity to nearby organs. The average survival is 12-16 months for people who do not have surgery to remove tumors.
Scientists are researching therapy combinations to improve that life expectancy, and one approach seems to have some potential.
Doctors tested the combination of an immunotherapy, a chemotherapy, and an inhibitor therapy to attack mesothelioma from several angles. In a study published on the National Library of Medicine website, the tri-therapy seemed to improve survival for people with mesothelioma.
Explaining Immunotherapy, Chemotherapy, and an Inhibitor
Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that helps the immune system attack and kill cancer cells. The most common type of immunotherapy for mesothelioma blocks certain proteins on the surface of cancer cells from forcing immune system cells (T cells) to ignore the diseased cells. The FDA has approved immunotherapy for mesothelioma when surgery is not an option.
Chemotherapy is a treatment that attacks cancer cells in the bloodstream. Chemotherapy for mesothelioma is FDA-approved.
Inhibitor therapies block specific characteristics or parts of cancer cells – such as their supply of oxygen to grow, divide, and survive. This type of therapy is called an angiogenesis inhibitor.
Study Results of ‘ABC’ for Mesothelioma
In the published study, authors described the tri-modal therapy as “ABC” for each of the therapies used. Doctors combined the immunotherapy drug atezolizumab, the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab, and standard chemotherapy.
The study included 400 people with pleural mesothelioma, which is a type of mesothelioma that starts in the lining of the lungs. Tumors quickly spread to the lungs in most cases. Half of the patients (200) received atezolizumab, bevacizumab and chemotherapy. The other half received just bevacizumab and chemotherapy – without any immunotherapy.
At a median follow-up of 35 months, the median overall survival for people receiving ABC was 20.5 months, which was 3 months better mesothelioma survival versus patients receiving just bevacizumab and chemotherapy.
Additionally, progression-free survival was often longer for the tri-modal therapy group. Progression-free survival means the cancer has not grown since treatment began. For the group receiving ABC, progression-free survival was 9.2 months, and only 7.6 months for the comparison group of patients.
Learning About Your Treatment Options
Many people diagnosed with mesothelioma are unaware of the different treatment options emerging and in testing.
Contact our registered nurse, Karen Ritter, at karen@mesotheliomaguide.com to learn your options, including enrolling in a clinical trial or going to a top cancer center to receive promising treatment combinations. Contacting Karen may help extend your survival, or even help you beat mesothelioma and become a cancer survivor.
Sources & Author
- A randomised phase III study of bevacizumab and carboplatin-pemetrexed chemotherapy with or without atezolizumab as first-line treatment for advanced pleural mesothelioma: results of the ETOP 13-18 BEAT-meso trial. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39814199/. Accessed: 02/10/2025.
Sources & Author
