What is it?
Phase I Study of SS1(dsFv)-PE38 Immunotoxin in Combination with Pemetrexed Disodium and Cisplatin in Patients with Unresectable Malignant Epithelial Pleural Mesothelioma (NCI-08-C-0026).
Principal Investigator
Dr. Raffit Hassan, NCI Center for Cancer Research
Why?
Besides the obvious – that we desperately need more/better treatments for the often-fatal mesothelioma diagnosis.
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare cancer that affects the tissue lining the chest (pleura) or the abdomen (peritoneum). Based on the appearance of the cancer cells under a microscope, mesothelioma is classified as epithelial, sarcomatoid, or mixed; epithelial mesothelioma is associated with slightly better outcomes than the other types.
Patients with pleural mesothelioma (mesothelioma of the pleura) that cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable or inoperable) are usually treated with combination chemotherapy using the drugs pemetrexed and cisplatin. Although this therapy can delay progression of the disease, the benefits are often short lived and most patients die within 2 years.
What’s the study?
Researchers hope an experimental immunotoxin called SS1(dsFv)-PE38 (or SS1P) can improve the outcomes of patients with unresectable mesothelioma. SS1P is a genetically engineered biological agent in which part of a bacterial toxin is linked to an antibody that recognizes the protein mesothelin. Mesothelin is found in abundance on the surface of epithelial mesothelioma cells and cells of several other types of cancer. In laboratory studies, combining SS1P with chemotherapy leads to increased antitumor activity compared with either therapy alone.
For More Information
See the list of entry criteria and trial contact information or call the NCI Clinical Trials Referral Office at 1-888-NCI-1937. The call is toll-free and confidential.
Read the protocol summary at Cancer.gov.
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