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Immunotherapeutic Approaches to Mesothelioma

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Asbestos and Mesothelioma

Part of the book series: Current Cancer Research ((CUCR))

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Abstract

Several lines of evidence indicate the activation of a host humoral and cellular response in mesothelioma patients. Tumor cells employ a number of mechanisms to promote immune tolerance and to escape host immune surveillance. These include immune checkpoints—molecules expressed on the surface of immune cells and tumor cells—that curb effector T-cell responses. The emerging category of drugs that inhibit immune checkpoints and their ligands have shown preliminary clinical activity in patients with mesothelioma. Among antigen-specific approaches, therapies targeting a tumor differentiation antigen mesothelin, which is differentially expressed in mesothelioma, are farthest along in clinical development. Included among the mesothelin-targeted immunotherapies that are under clinical investigation are immunotoxins, tumor vaccine, chimeric antigen receptor T cell, and antibody-based therapies. Of these, the monoclonal antibody amatuximab and an antibody-drug conjugate anetumab ravtansine are undergoing registration trials. Ongoing research is focused on better understanding the antitumor responses to immune-based approaches and to prospectively identify patients who are more likely to respond to these interventions. Parallel efforts are also investigating ways to therapeutically improve mesothelioma immunogenicity.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported in part by the intramural research program of the National Cancer Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thoracic and GI Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Anish Thomas, Madhuri Badrinath & Raffit Hassan

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  1. Anish Thomas
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  2. Madhuri Badrinath
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  3. Raffit Hassan
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Correspondence to Raffit Hassan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Biology Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Joseph R. Testa

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Thomas, A., Badrinath, M., Hassan, R. (2017). Immunotherapeutic Approaches to Mesothelioma. In: Testa, J. (eds) Asbestos and Mesothelioma. Current Cancer Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53560-9_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53560-9_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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