Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Mesothelioma is an aggressive and incurable form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.  While all previous attempts at slowing or reversing this disease’s progression have been mild successes at best and complete failures at worst, doctors are hopeful that a new treatment which uses a specific virus to identify and attack tumor cells will provide an answer.  The JX-594 virus was used in a study involving humans for the first time recently and the results shocked researchers.

The trial was designed merely to test the safety of the virus and the intravenous delivery system in humans.  Only a handful of participants completed the trial however in 6 of the 8 people who were given the highest dose of the virus, their tumors stopped growing altogether or began to shrink.  These were 6 of the 23 patient participants whose various forms of cancer had already stopped responding to traditional treatments for mesothelioma and who had little hope. 

In addition, doctors were pleased to note that healthy tissue remained unharmed. This is excellent news because until recently the primary treatment methods for mesothelioma patients included surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, which often target healthy and unhealthy cells without discrimination. 

Professor John Bell of The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute said this study was so important because it marks the first time that "a viral therapy has been shown to consistently and selectively replicate in cancer tissue."  The virus is a custom derivative of a virus used in the smallpox vaccine and was “tweaked” in a lab setting to specifically target cancer cells.

The viral treatment is an excellent alternative for cancers, such as mesothelioma, that often spread throughout the body and do not remain in one location.  The virus can be injected into the bloodstream and travels throughout the body, making it so cancer cells have nowhere to hide.

The treatment did not go off without side effects though.  The virus induced flu-like symptoms but, considering the radical ill effects of chemo and radiation therapy, these were mild in comparison.

Professor Nick Lemoine of Cancer Research UK said the treatment showed "real promise," and researchers have set about the next phase of the study in order to perfect the treatment.

However, it is important to keep in mind that this treatment is still in its infancy and doctors have not yet associated TJ-594 with a mesothelioma cure.  It may be years or even decades before this treatment is ever available to mesothelioma patients at large.  Still, in a world where a diagnosis of mesothelioma comes with such poor prognosis, any hope is like a ray of sunshine in a darkened room.