Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

The push is on to find a novel approach to fight mesothelioma.  Scientists are looking to genetically altered viruses for their next weapon in the war against this deadly asbestos cancer.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of preventable cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.  While the disease strikes just under 3,000 people here in the United States, it kills hundreds of thousands worldwide.  Until now, doctors have been forced to rely on outdated and ineffective methods of treatment that leave patients with a poor prognosis.

The disease is unconventional in that is has such a long latency period.  A patient can be exposed to asbestos decades before ever developing symptoms of mesothelioma.  Unfortunately, this means that by the time the disease is discovered, it has most likely progressed into the terminal phases.  And even when the mesothelioma is diagnosed fairly early on, current treatment methods do little to stop the tide of this inevitable disease.

That’s why researchers are turning to genetically altered viruses and bacteria in hopes that they can engineer a cure or even an effective treatment in a laboratory test tube.  For years the accepted method of treatment for mesothelioma patients has been very similar to that prescribed to sufferers of other types of cancer – surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.  Unfortunately, mesothelioma does not respond well to these treatments and many patients suffer severe side effects of these procedures.

Enter the adenoviruses.  Adenoviruses consist of a group of viruses that are prevalent in the natural world.  They exist within everybody but rarely cause much harm because the human immune system has adjusted itself to combat them.  The most common ailment caused by these omnipresent viruses is respiratory tract infections. 

Scientists are interested in these viruses because they are a hardy example of a genetically alterable tool.  By manipulating the biological code of these viruses, we can specifically target them to attack certain types of cells.  In fact, by altering them correctly, scientist can engineer a virus that will only infect cancer cells – leaving all other cells untouched

This is exciting news since it may lead to a form of treatment for mesothelioma and other forms of cancer that does not involve poisoning the body with large doses of chemicals and radiation and one which may not require surgical removal of tumors.

Studies into the effectiveness of these targeted adenoviruses have been promising.  One such Pan-Pacific study involving researchers in both California and Japan, whose results were published in the Journal of Gene Medicine, showed that such viruses could cause complete regression of malignant mesothelioma cells.  The study used mice as guinea pigs instead of humans but the transition across species may be within reach.

The good news goes on.  Mesothelioma may be uniquely suited to this type of treatment because the disease is caused by localized foreign contaminants, asbestos fibers, within the body.  Therefore the cancer can be addressed more handily than one that is spread over the entire body.

However, this research is in its infancy and much progress must be made before this type of treatment can be used on human patients.  Still, having a viral weapon in the arsenal against mesothelioma may put researchers one step closer to a cure.