Mesothelioma: an inviting but challenging target for gene therapy

Our plain-English summary of Mesothelioma: an inviting but challenging target for gene therapy, by R.G. Crystal (American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, 2010).

The study

• Author: R.G. Crystal
• Journal: American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology
• Published: 2010;42(4):383-4
• Type of article: Comment, Editorial
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This article is a one-author editorial, not a research study, and it reports no new data. Citing other publications, the author stated that the only known cause of mesothelioma is exposure to amphibole asbestos, accounting for 65 to 70% of cases, and that average survival from diagnosis is 6 to 18 months. The editorial introduced a review by Albelda and colleagues in the same journal issue. It described their 1995 paper, in which mice with human mesothelioma cells implanted in the peritoneum received an adenovirus carrying a herpes simplex thymidine kinase gene, then the drug ganciclovir, and the tumors regressed. According to the editorial, later human trials in pleural mesothelioma did not extend patients' lives, apart from a few examples of increased survival. The author explained this by saying current technology cannot transfer genes to more than a small percentage of tumor cells. The author concluded that gene therapy "will eventually work" and may even lead to a cure of mesothelioma.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Editorial (opinion and commentary, no original data)
• Who was studied: No study population. The editorial comments on a review by Albelda and colleagues published in the same journal issue, and on that group's earlier mouse and human studies.
• Exposure: No exposure was studied. As background, citing other publications, the author stated that the only known cause of mesothelioma is amphibole asbestos, accounting for 65 to 70% of cases.
• Main results:
  • Background statement citing other publications, not a finding of this article: average lifespan from diagnosis of mesothelioma is 6 to 18 months.
  • Described from the authors' 1995 paper, not a finding of this article: in immunodeficient mice with human mesothelioma cells implanted in the peritoneum, the tumors regressed after the thymidine kinase gene was transferred and ganciclovir was given.
  • Described from later human clinical trials in pleural mesothelioma, not a finding of this article: apart from a few examples of increased survival, the therapy did not extend patients' lifespan.
• The authors' conclusion: The author's opinion was that the human trials fell short because current technology cannot transfer genes to more than a small percentage of tumor cells. The author also stated that gene therapy will eventually work and may even lead to a cure of mesothelioma.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Gene therapy for mesothelioma and lung cancer — A. Vachani, E. Moon, et al. (2010)
• Gene therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma: present and future — Y. Tada, Y. Takiguchi, et al. (2008)
• Gene therapy approaches for inherited and acquired lung diseases — D.T. Curiel, J.M. Pilewski, et al. (1996)
• Gene therapy for mesothelioma — A. Vachani, E. Moon, et al. (2011)
• Gene therapy for lung diseases: development in the vector biology and novel concepts for gene therapy applications — M. Suzuki, T. Matsuse, et al. (2001)
• Cytokine gene therapy or infusion as treatment for solid human cancer — B.W. Robinson, S.A. Mukherjee, et al. (1998)

Browse more research in American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, or return to medical research.