Mesothelioma patients may benefit from the results of the clinical trials being conducted at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Recently, researchers have tested a Wilms Tumor-1 (WT1) vaccine to see if it delays or prevents malignant pleural mesothelioma from growing back after surgery and now pleural mesothelioma or lung cancer patients may be eligible to participate in another clinical trial at Memorial Sloan-Kettering to test the safety of a drug known as GL-ONC1. GL-ONC1 is a vaccinia virus, or modified virus, used to target and destroy malignant cancer cells without harming healthy tissues or cells. According to a February 5, 2013 press release by Genelux Corporation, the biopharmaceutical company that develops GL-ONC1, the first patient was treated in Phase I of the clinical trial in New York with GL-ONC1 which will be administered at different dosages intrapleurally to determine the recommended dosage for future treatment.
Clinical Trials Start for GL-ONC1 Drug That May Benefit Mesothelioma Patients
First week of April designated "National Asbestos Awareness Week"
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed Senate resolution 66 designating the first week of April 2013 as "National Asbestos Awareness Week." Asbestos is known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma by breathing in asbestos fibers that become lodged in the lung or lining of the lung. One of the goals of resolution 66 is to warn and educate people about the dangers of asbestos exposure. Despite it's dangerous and adverse public health interests, asbestos is still mined, imported and used around the world. According to Dr. Richard Lemen, Assistant Surgeon General and one of the speakers at the Global Asbestos Awareness Week Conference, "vast amounts of asbestos are still used in many developing countries where exposure is not limited to just workers." A safe level of exposure to asbestos has not been able to be determined and therefore most industrial countries have banned its use. However, according to Dr. Lemen "this has not been true for Canada or the United States where products can still contain asbestos."
