New cancer research may prove helpful in the fight against mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused almost solely by toxic asbestos fibers. These fibers, once inhaled, can start a mutation process in cells of lung and abdominal cavity lining. Mesothelioma can take decades to demonstrate symptoms making it hard to detect. Once it has been diagnosed, typical prognoses include an average life expectancy of eighteen months.
Although many mesothelioma patients are choosing palliative care, which focuses on pain management and bettering quality of life, there are many aggressive mesothelioma treatments available. A combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and rehabilitative therapies are typically administered in a mesothelioma case. However, mesothelioma has proved somewhat chemotherapy resistant and continues to be considered incurable.
As part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, grants have been distributed to further cancer research. Agios Pharmaceuticals, a recipient of such a grant through the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program (QTDP), has been studying cancer metabolism. Following an exciting discovery of a connection between slowed growth in lung cancer cells and the diabetic drug metformin, cancer metabolism testing is proving positive.
With $488,000 in funding from QTDP, Agios Pharmaceuticals is one of the leading groups in metabolism research. Chief executive David Schenkein said,
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