Mesothelioma - Biological Treatments For Cancer

A recent method of treatment for mesothelioma andother cancers is the intensifying of biological defense mechanismsnatural to the body itself. Normal cells produce substances that canblock tumor growth, or stimulate the immune system and other naturaldefenses to attack the cancer. The agents that focus or strengthennatural defenses are called biological response modifiers or BRMs.


Intuitively,most of us have known that the human body had it's own mechanisms forfighting cancer and other diseases. BRMs however, are a medically hightech way of encouraging our natural body defenses to charge intoaction. These biological agents are often used side by side with othercancer treatments, including radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy.


BRMscan prevent cancer from spreading, reverse the process whereby normalcells change to cancer cells, stop cancer cell growth, boost the immunesystem's attack on cancer, and make cancer more susceptible to beingkilled by the body's immune system. Her are some of the major BRMsunder research.

1. Interleukins are cytokines which are foundnaturally in the human body. Interleukins stimulate the growth ofimmune cells which destroy cancer cells. Research is under way usinginterleukins to treat a variety of cancers.

2. Interferon, whichis also a type of cytokine, can be isolated and given in cancertreatment to boost the immune system. Interferon can slows cancergrowth or alter cancer cells so that they grow more like normal cells.Researchers are exploring the use of interferon in the treatment ofmany cancers

3. Colony stimulating factors act differently.Colony stimulating factors affect the bone marrow, by stimulating theproduction of white blood cells, platelets, and red blood cells. Duringchemotherapy, bone marrow can become suppressed, causing anemia andfatigue. The use of colony stimulating factors allows higher doses ofchemotherapy than might be tolerated without it.

4. Monoclonalantibodies(MOABs) are produced in a laboratory and are specific for aparticular antigen. Research is now focusing on creating monoclonalantibodies that target cancer types. Some MOABs have the ability tostop cancer cell growth factors, and some can attach to cancer cellsand deliver poisons that kill the cancer cells.

5. Gene therapyinserts genetic material into cells. The genetic material may bedesigned to be inserted into immune cells in order to increase theircancer fighting abilities. It may also be placed into cancer cells,causing them to produce cytokines which stimulate the immune defenseagainst the cancer itself.

6. Cancer vaccines expose the body toweak of killed versions of the organism that causes the disease, andstimulate an immune response to protect from future disease. Anotherapproach using vaccines, is to give a vaccine during the time of thedisease. This is called therapeutic vaccination. These vaccines areunder research in combination with other BRMs.

Just because thesetherapies are biological does not mean that they are without sideeffects. Side effects for these agents can vary from allergic reactionsto nausea, and vomiting. Each of the BRMs have it's own associatedpossible side effects. The research is quite promising, however, andhas been progressively adding to the arsenal of weapons for fightingmesothelioma, and other cancers.