Mesothelioma patients throughout the United States, overwhelmed with decisions that need to be made regarding their health, call the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America (MESORFA). Some of these cancer patients have already been treated with chemotherapy, surgery, and even radiation and are left feeling as though there is nowhere else to turn; others have been recently diagnosed and are now searching for some hope.
In the past, the MESORFA referred these patients to Dr. Parkash Gill at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. However, patients who are on the east coast are unable to make the trek across the U.S. to see Dr. Parkash Gill. In an endeavor to meet the needs of the patients we are now working with a team of doctors on the East Coast at the Yale Cancer Medical Center. Dr. Scott Gettinger, a medical oncologist in the Thoracic Oncology Program (TOP) at Yale is working on a Phase 1 clinical trial of an orally administered histone deacetylase inhibitor called PXD101 that the Curagen pharmaceutical company is sponsoring. Prior studies with a similar agent have reported responses in patients with metastatic mesothelioma.
Acceptance for this clinical trial depends upon the patient?s condition and health history. Although not the same for every patient the most common side effects of PXD101 include being tired and/or fatigued, along with low-grade nausea, which can be treated with medications. These side effects have proven to be minimal and less severe than the effects of chemotherapy or radiation. This trial is appealing in cases where all other standard line therapies have failed and no other treatment options are available.
The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America looks forward to working closely with the Yale Cancer Center along with other hospitals throughout the United States in treating patients with mesothelioma and finding a cure for this horrible disease.
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