Recently, Scottish researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow discovered a new chemotherapy delivery system for patients suffering from malignant pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Mesothelioma is a deadly disease that affects the pleura or the lining surrounding the heart, lungs and stomach, often caused by asbestos exposure. Pleural mesothelioma – where the lining of the lungs is damaged – is the most regularly diagnosed type of mesothelioma.
Dr. Chris Carter, project leader and a Senior Lecturer with the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biosciences, along with Professor Alex Mullen and Dr. Valeria Ferro discovered that a common chemotherapy drug used to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer more effective when delivered in a vaporized state.
The chemotherapy drug known as Cisplatin is administered as an injection through an intravenous drip, given over a course of several hours. However, the Scottish research team discovered that if Cisplatin is administered through an inhaler rather than an intravenous drip, the drug begins to work more quickly and effectively on the cancerous lung tissue.
Since the majority of mesothelioma diagnosis are for pleural mesothelioma, inhaling the chemotherapy drug directly into the lungs targets only the cancerous cells instead of the healthy cells that often come into direct contact with an intravenous drip.
When a potent chemotherapy drug, like Cisplatin, interferes with healthy cells, it slows the overall treatment of mesothelioma, putting the patient in further danger.
According to Dr. Chris Carter, the new inhaled delivery system “would make the treatment far less onerous for [patients] and we hope it would help them to live longer.”
With this new mesothelioma drug delivery system, the hope may be that the often devastating side-effects of chemotherapy are less severe. In particular, the side-effect risks of Cisplatin include vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss and dehydration, among others. Unfortunately, Cisplatin, like many other chemotherapy drugs, often have more physically devastating, severe symptoms that may hinder the on-going treatment and adversely affect the patient’s overall health.
Though more research into the delivery system is needed, perhaps with the direct approach of an inhaled chemotherapy drug will lessen the impact of side-effects on patients.
Moreover, the Scottish research team’s discovery may lead to other less invasive and safer drug delivery systems for malignant mesothelioma, asbestos cancer and lung cancer.
