Recently, a drug widely used to treat high levels of cholesterol has shown promise for patients going through mesothelioma treatment. So far, the drug has been successfully used to treat melanoma, and may be useful for treating a wide range of other cancers.

The drug under investigation is Lovastatin, which was introduced in 1980. Early studies on Lovastatin originally excited researchers because of the unexpected, yet potent side effect it had on killing cancer cells. However, it was soon noted that humans were not able to tolerate the high doses of the drug needed to produce the anti-cancer effect, and plans to use the drug in cancer trials were temporarily postponed.

Researchers are now reconsidering Lovastatin and its potential uses in cancer treatment. One Nashville, Tennessee clinician has already been using the drug to treat some of the most serious cancers, including pleural mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that most commonly affects the lining of the lungs. Caused strictly by asbestos exposure, mesothelioma has a latency period of three to five decades, which usually results in a diagnosis when the disease is in its last stages of development.

Lovastatin has recently been able to arrest or entirely eradicate tumors in more than 80 percent of people who receive the treatment. The first cancer patient treated with Lovastatin in 2000 had stage four melanoma, and eight years after receiving treatment, remains healthy and disease-free.

NeoPlas Innovation Director of Research, Dr. Stephen Cantrell, says the key is using interferon combined with Lovastatin to reduce the toxicity of the cholesterol drug. The treatment protocol includes administration of a very precisely timed series of low-dose interferon and Lovastatin.

The results have been great, with melanoma patients experiencing eradication of tumors, long-term disease stability, or a substantial slowing of the progression of the disease. Less than 20 percent of people treated with the combination have failed to respond positively.

Another advantage of using Lovastatin is the absence of toxic side-effects usually associated with standard chemotherapy. The most prevalent side-effect with Lovastatin treatment is fatigue, unlike other chemotherapy drugs that can cause nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and immune system suppression.

Clinicians expect the Lovastatin-interferon combination will soon be used to treat pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, renal cancer, sarcoma, and mesothelioma, as well as other forms of asbestos cancer.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.