NEW TREATMENT FOR pleural mesothelioma, SIENA THE FIRST TREATMENT IN THE WORLD

Treaty today (Wednesday May 27) in Siena the first patient in the world with a new possible treatment for pleural mesothelioma . The milestone was reached dall'UOC Immunotherapy of Cancer of Santa Maria alle Scotte Polyclinic , headed by Dr. Michele Maio , the only department of medical oncology in Italy dedicated to the immunological and biological therapy of cancer, which has invested heavily in the region of Tuscany through the Institute Toscano Tumori.

" It is a monoclonal antibody - Maio says - we are already experimenting with promising results in other human cancers , and that now, for the first time , it is used to combat this disease , with high social impact since it is directly related to ' environmental and occupational exposure to asbestos . "

The study of Sienese Phase two will involve and twenty-nine patients from all over Italy with specific clinical and biological features , also selected by the Italian Group for Mesothelioma chaired by Dr. Luciano Mutti , which is part of the equipe directed by Dr. Maio.

" The molecule that we are using is able to ' remove the brake ' to the immune system - adds Maio - by blocking the activity of a specific population of lymphocytes that regulates physiological activity . In this way is strongly enhanced the immune response to the tumor. Immunotherapy may represent a promising therapeutic strategy because for mesothelioma , the three commonly used weapons against cancer and that is surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are not particularly effective since, in the majority of cases, the disease is identified only in advanced stage » .

The clinical project just launched is the result of a long and complex work of laboratory research , conducted in collaboration with the Oncological Referral Center , Aviano and made possible thanks to specific funds allocated in previous years the team of Dr. Maio Foundation Buzzi Unicem Casale Monferrato which supports projects and interventions for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease , which in some Italian areas , has a frequency of new cases of 10-15 times higher than the rest of the population, with approximately 1500 new cases per year and that it is expected , will have a peak incidence between 2020 and 2025.

" The study - concluded Maio - will end in 2011 and , in case of positive results , will move to step three , involving several hundred patients not only in Italy but also abroad. The search for new and more effective therapies for the treatment of mesothelioma is indeed a need felt both in industrialized countries than in developing . "