Jun 14, 2012 - University of Hawaii Leads the Way in Mesothelioma Research
The University of Hawaii has a world-class cancer research facility. Its scientists and clinical researchers have become some of the most influential in developing new forms of mesothelioma treatment and furthering the understanding of how this ‘asbestos cancer’ develops.
Most recently, Dr. Haining Yang of the University’s Cancer Center led an international team of researchers as they discovered the critical link between the protein HMGB1 (high-mobility group protein 1) and mesothelioma. Though the disease is caused by exposure to asbestos, the exact method in which the disease develops is unknown. This new research shows that the protein is essential during the development of the mesothelioma cells. Not only does the protein create a sympathetic environment in which the cells can grow, the cells themselves secrete the substance in high concentrations, thus promoting even further proliferation.
Specifically HMGB1 aids in growth and replication of mesothelioma cells. It increases the speed at which these cells reproduce, and increases their longevity, making them hardier and harder to kill – bad news for patients and doctors doing their best to do just that.
Yang’s findings were published in the online edition of Cancer Research and outline the developmental process of mesothelioma cells. This deeper understanding of how the disease is caused and progresses will no doubt lead others to discover novel ways to attack this currently incurable disease. As Dr. Yang is quoted as saying, “the next step is to translate this discovery into actual treatments for mesothelioma patients.”
And researchers may have already taken that first step. Yang and his colleagues also discovered that antibodies directed against HMGB1 (or those which targeted the receptor for advanced glycation end products) had negative effects on the cancer cells. In lab mice it slowed tumor growth and prolonged the lifespan of test animals when compared to the average.
Indeed, Dr. Yang said that “taken together, our findings indicate that [malignant mesothelioma] cells rely on HMGB1 and they offer a preclinical proof of principle that antibody-mediated ablation of HMBG1 is sufficient to elicit therapeutic activity.”
This international effort between Dr. Yang and colleagues from the John A. Burns School of Medicine at UH Manoa, the San Raffaele University and Research Institute in Milan, and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda and the New York University School of Medicine is just another example of how the world community is coming together to fight this truly global disease. Other recent breakthroughs have been discovered in Korea, Japan, Italy, and Australia.
Source: A NEW TARGET IDENTIFIED IN TREATING MESOTHELIOMA
University of Hawaii Cancer Center Researcher Leads International Team in Discovery
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