[30 Jan 2012 | No Comment | 81 views]
BRCA1 is an essential mediator of vinorelbine induced apoptosis in mesothelioma

The BRCA1 (breast cancer gene 1) tumour suppressor gene has been reported as a potential predictive biomarker of response to chemotherapy to antimicrotubule agents including vinorelbine, vincristine, paclitaxel and docetaxel. High levels of BRCA1 mRNA expression have been linked to better response rates and improved progression-free survival.

The data presented here highlights that BRCA1-immunonegativity can effectively predict resistance to vinorelbine and microtubule-directed chemotherapy .

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Asbestos, iMig.org »

[8 Dec 2011 | No Comment | 168 views] Read more >> 
North American Declaration to Eliminate Asbestos-related Diseases

iMig has endorsed the North American Declaration to Eliminate Asbestos-related Diseases, which was released today (Dec. 8, 2011).

We invite our members to read the Declaration and sign the petition.

Basic Research »

[28 Nov 2011 | No Comment | 286 views] Read more >> 
Polycomb Repressor Complex-2 is a novel target for mesothelioma therapy

Polycomb group proteins (PcG), proteins that act to regulate transcription, have been implicated in numerous aspects of malignancies especially the ones with an aggressive phenotype and in stem cell biology. Misregulation of Polycomb protein levels often leads to either a block or unscheduled activation of developmental pathways, thereby enhancing the proliferation capability of a cell. Polycomb proteins form at least two distinct complexes, the Polycomb-repressive complexes 1 and 2 (PRC1 and PRC2). There is increasing evidence that PRC complexes have a role in tumor progression and development by blocking differentiation …

Basic Research »

[18 Nov 2011 | No Comment | 202 views] Read more >> 
Vandetanib as a potent antitumour agent in mesothelioma

Many targeted agents, such as anti-VEGF and anti-EGFR blockers, have not shown promise against mesothelioma, at least when used as single agents. However these same targeted agents might be effective when used in combination with chemotherapy or when used in a selected subpopulation. This study tested a variety of targeted agents together with cisplatinum-pemetrexed against 4 mesothelioma lines and found vandetanib, an inhibitor of EGFR/VEGFR2/RET, to be the most effective. Although the agent has multiple effects (see figure), the effect seemed to be explained by the effect on EGFR and …

Clinical Research »

[17 Oct 2011 | No Comment | 190 views] Read more >> 
Treatment of mesothelioma with gene-modified PA1STK cells and ganciclovir: a phase I study

This article presents the results in humans of the first intrapleural instillation of a genetically modified cell line carrying a thymidine kinase suicide gene in mesothelioma.  From prior work, these instilled cells are thought to adhere to the intrapleural tumor and to form gap junctions.  Then, a pro-drug, ganciclovir, is delivered intravenously, diffuses into the pleural space and is converted by the TK gene in the cells to a toxic drug, ganciclovir-triphosphate, which kills the instilled cells and neighboring tumor cells via a ‘bystander effect’.  The process may also induce …