Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Historically, one treatment option for people who have been diagnosed with cancer, including mesothelioma, is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a standard treatment for mesothelioma, usually combined with radiation therapy or surgery.  Chemotherapy is a general term to describe the use of chemicals or medications that work to interfere with the growth and reproduction of cancer cells.  While this helps kill the cancer cells, it also affects the normal cells and can cause devastating side effects. 

In recent years, new treatment options have been developed and tested to treat cancers such as mesothelioma without causing the devastating side effects of chemotherapy.  These treatments are designed to target the specific proteins in cells that cause them to mutate and become cancerous.

Researchers have determined that mesothelioma cells have an increased presence of a protein called mesothelin.  The increased presence of mesothelin is thought to enable the growth and spread of the cancer.  As a result, much of the mesothelioma research currently underway is focused on developing gene therapies or biopharmaceutical products that can directly block mesothelin function. 

In March 2009, biopharmaceutical company Morphotek announced the commencement of a Phase II clinical trial to evaluate MORAb-009 as a new therapeutic approach to treat mesothelioma.  MORAb-009 is a monoclonal antibody, which means that it is a replica of the antibodies that a person’s immune system might make to fight off disease. 

MORAb-009 works by stimulating the body's immune system and by blocking the function of mesothelin.  The earliest studies of MORAb-009 involved animals and showed a slowing of tumor growth when combined with chemotherapy.   Mesothelioma patients in the Phase I trial tolerated treatment well and endured only minimal side effects. 

Monoclonal antibodies such as MORAb-009 are a relatively new type of therapy cancer treatment.  The process of developing this type of treatment begins by identifying antibodies known to serve specific functions, and then adapting them in the laboratory in such a way as to replicate and develop the exact characteristics needed to attack the protein causing the cancer to grow and spread. 

The Phase II MORAb-009 clinical trial is designed to provide patients with mesothelioma a treatment option that goes beyond the normal standard of care. Participants receive a MORAb-009 in combination with chemotherapy drugs.  The hope is that this study will further assess the effectiveness of MORAb-009 in treating mesothelioma and also further evidence the safety of this treatment option.   The entire clinical trial is scheduled to last approximately four years.

Patients diagnosed with mesothelioma should carefully weigh all options with their doctors to determine whether or not to participate in a clinical trial.  The treatment centers currently planning to participate in Morphotek's clinical trial are located in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, and additional treatment centers may be added. For the latest information on the MORAb-009 clinical trial and participating treatment centers, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov and type in: NCT00738582 or contact the National Cancer Institute at 1-888-522-4743.