Mesothelioma cases that give hope. And in a patient's tumor is completely gone Brescia

years ago he had mesothelioma. Then the cancer is gone. This is the case of a patient under treatment in Brescia, PR, 56 years old. In 2006, the diagnosis and treatment standards, mandatory if you want to then access experimental therapies.
"But with traditional treatments, however, did not react as" chemoresistant "," explains Luciano Mutti, president of the Italian Group for Mesothelioma.
"So it was decided to add in trials with Gleevec and Gemcitabine and was taken care of by Dr. Gianfranco rates, also a member of the Gime. Today, five years after therapy, there has never been any recurrence of disease, and the tumor has completely disappeared. In technical terms is called "complete response". No visible damage to either the Tac nor the Pet. " Gleevec and Gemcitabine protocol with Gleevec and Gemcitabine is the first to have offered some prospect of innovative therapy and 16 November - announces Mutti - is scheduled to meet with Novartis (the pharmaceutical industry that produces Gleevec) in order to renew the experiment. spite of some good answers, in fact, the experimental protocol officer was thwarted - believes the president of Gime - the fact that one of the participating centers enrolled patients in an advanced stage of disease and treatments carried out in an inappropriate manner, with the result that the statistical response to therapy has plummeted. "An encounter with Novartis has its own purpose - Mutti says - to get the drug to a second protocol that will be done this time with centers chosen and controlled, both in the selection of cases for both the monitoring of the treatment, which is done by the control center Mario Negri, thanks to the contribution of Fondazione Buzzi Unicem. " The case of the patient Brescia is now absolutely unique, but there are other results that glimmer of hope for an effective therapy. monferrina A patient that - she - had not responded to traditional chemotherapy and who had important giovamenti by treatment with Gleevec and Gemcitabine, which made ​​it possible to stabilize the getting the disease - for several years - a good quality of life. Lombard And then a patient survived mesothelioma for about six years. "Patients whose we are studying the DNA to understand what are the reasons for this positive response," says Mutti. The translational research of Gime is the so-called research 'translational' (which could be translated as application) and which has the purpose of crossing the data emerging from basic research (the 'classic' that is done in the laboratory with microscopes and slides) on the biological mechanisms of disease and knowledge of new drug molecules for the development of new methods for early diagnosis and therapy. importantissina Research and the side that is perhaps more interesting for those who are already exposed to a risk, as it is one that can give results in a shorter time. Protocol Siena Almost done also the protocol of Siena headed by Dr. Michele Maio and pointing out a treatment aimed at strengthening the body's immune defenses. "There are six patients and is closed, and where the data were confirmed, as effective protocol, "says Mutti. "Treatment works, and we will now a second step in combination with chemotherapy. "We believe that it would have enhanced the immune response and in the same way that the effect of chemotherapy would in turn favored by the treatment given to Siena. " Our collaboration with the U.S. Interesting news from cooperation with the network of study and active experimentation in the United States: Michele Carbone Hawaii, Harvey Pass in NY, Boston Raphael Bueno, David Sydraski in Baltimore. has been developed a new experimental methodology - says Mutti - which allows you to replicate the tumor of each patient in guinea pigs. "This allows you to have a" prediction "much more certain, passing by a 15-20% of the in vitro 60-70% chance that the result is replicated in the same patient. It is an important step forward for what is called the "personalization of therapy" for which funding has been requested to the U.S. government. " Basically in the period in which you do the traditional cures the new method would allow you to experience all of the guinea pigs medications available to test the sensitivity of the specific patient for the next experimental treatment. "From the available data on other areas it was found that in 60-70% of cases the sensitivity of the mouse corresponds to the patient's treatment thus allowing more targeted and effective . Now we are seeking the support of private sponsors to contribute to the project with American and ensure that additional resources are also enrolled patients in Europe. " Basic research and basic research continues to identify new drugs, study being done at the University Novara. "In collaboration with the company of Stockholm" Karo Bios "is being done testing" agonists "of estrogen receptors. 'good estrogen receptors (beta) reduce the proliferation, mortifying the respiration of cancer cells so that they become more sensitive to drugs, "explains Mutti. "They were recently published by our group and other groups have published similar results on lymphoma - that has the same type of receptors - and cancer of the biliary tract." On the face of genetic Another front research is related to genetic aspects. 2 December there will be a "Consensus Meeting" in Hawaii attended by Michele Carbone, Carlo Maria Croce, and the same Luciano Mutti to assess precisely what is the role of genetics for the appearance of mesothelioma. "We are interested to know what produce the altered genes, abnormal proteins expressed by abnormal genes that you are working to identify the medication that the compensation. Proteins involved in proliferative signals, and can also determine the resistance to chemotherapy, " Always December 2 will be held another meeting on micro-RNA to make the point on the biggest project ever done on the tissues of one hundred patients mesolioma. study was coordinated by Carlo Maria Croce - director of the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Human Genetics at the Ohio State University, is on the committee that awards the Nobel Prize for Medicine and had taken part in the conference on mesothelioma promoted in Casale in 2009 . MicroRNAs are very small particles of ribonucleic acid, which regulate the expression of genes often assuming the role of oncogenes (genes that promote cancer) or tumor suppressor genes (genes that block cancer). Molecules that play a key role in all human cancers and probably also in the development of mesothelioma. too, the study of microRNAs produced by the Cross was born from the contribution of the Fondazione Buzzi.