We reported recently that the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has given $1 million in grants to 10 separate groups of researchers who have proposed promising mesothelioma research projects. Below is a brief synopsis of each of them. You can see the proposals in full and the names of their authors at MARF’s website.
“Establishing the molecular identity of a panel of internalizing mesothelioma cell surface antigens” — It has been determined that certain antibodies can bind to mesothelioma cells and can aid in the delivery of small molecule drugs directly to the mesothelioma cells. This project aims to research these antigens more closely.
“Combinatorial targeting of signaling pathways that are frequently implicated in malignant mesothelioma” — This project aims to determine whether targeting certain signal pathways for treatment with drugs can slow or stop mesothelioma cell development.
“Mechanisms of innate drug sensitivity in malignant pleural mesotheliomas” – This project simply seeks to examine mesothelioma cell drug sensitivity to develop tools to increase it.
“Nanoporous Spheres for Chemotherapeutic Drug Delivery in Mesothelioma Patients” – This project will test novel particles containing two chemotherapy drugs to treat human mesothelioma cells implanted into mice.
“The use of novel mesothelioma-specific antibodies for diagnostic and therapeutic preclinical studies” — This project proposes to investigate antibodies capable of delivering therapy specifically to tumors in order to determine how useful they can be for mesothelioma diagnosis or therapy.
“Serum specimen identification and mortality experience update among asbestos insulators for validation of mesothelioma biomarkers” — This project will examine clinical examination results from 2907 asbestos insulators in 1982-83. Serum specimens from these examinations may be used to validate mesothelioma blood markers.
“WT-1 analog peptide vaccine in patients with malignant mesothelioma” — This project will look at the gene WT-1, which is involved in the development of cancer, in order to try to develop and test a vaccine against it.
“Silencing mesothelioma: a novel approach for treatment of mesothelioma” – This project seeks to study what happens if the production of mesothelin –an antigen found in large quantities in mesothelioma patients – is inhibited.
“Adenovirus-mediated NK4 Gene therapy for malignant mesothelioma” — This project seeks to examine the NK4 gene and determine if it can be manipulated to help stop mesothelioma.
“The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in mesothelioma” — This study seeks to identify the molecular and clinical determinants for mesothelioma patient’s expected outcome.
