West Australian researchers have developed a new type of test that
could predict very early on in treatment if mesothelioma patients will
benefit from chemotherapy.
Up to 60 patients with the asbestos-related cancer will participate
in a study of the test, which is being conducted at the National
Research Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases based at the Western
Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR).
While chemotherapy is the most common treatment for people with
mesothelioma, not all patients benefit from the treatment and
side-effects are common.
However, it currently takes 3 to 4 cycles of chemotherapy (over
three to four months) before doctors can determine if it will be
effective.
Study Investigator Dr Anna Nowak from The University of Western
Australia said a novel imaging test, using PET scanning technology, was
being tested which she hoped would detect the patient’s response to
chemotherapy two to three months earlier than conventional CT scans.
“The beauty of this test is that it can be assessed after the first
cycle of chemotherapy which usually takes about three to four weeks,”
Dr Nowak said.
“So, if successful, this scan will reveal early on which patients
are going to benefit from chemotherapy and, importantly, avoid
unnecessary toxicity to patients who will not have results from the
treatment.”
Dr Nowak said it was the way that mesothelioma grew that currently
made it difficult to determine individual patient responses to
chemotherapy.
“However, what we have discovered, is that the injection of a
flurothymidine-labelled tracer is taken up by dividing mesothelioma
cells,” she said.
“As tumour cells divide more actively than normal cells, when a PET
scan is performed it will show the tumour up as a ‘hot spot’.
“With this new test, we expect that if the tumour is going to
respond to chemotherapy, the amount of flurothymidine in the tumour
will reduce as early as after the first treatment, without the need to
wait for the tumour to appear smaller on a CT scan.”
The research is one of many projects being conducted at the National
Research Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases to boost the potential
for crucial advances in the screening and treatment of people at risk
of cancers such as mesothelioma.
The Commonwealth Government has committed $6.2 million to the Centre
through the National Health and Medical Research Council, funding 11
research projects over three years, while UWA has contributed $900,000
over three years.
Media references
Natalie Papadopoulos (WAIMR Media Consultant) 61 8 9388 9280
0407 984 435
Simone Hewett / Sally-Ann Jones 61 8 6488 7977
(UWA Public Affairs) 0420 790 097 / 0420 790 098
