Mesothelioma research is going on all the time and there are always opportunities to get more information. Researchers are looking for the exact way asbestos causes mesothelioma and for ways to prevent this deadly cancer. Doctors are trying to find new and more effective treatments and better ways to diagnose mesothelioma.

A great deal of mesothelioma research has focused on trying to find out exactly how asbestos changes the DNA of cells to cause cancer. If researchers can figure this out, they may be able to find ways to prevent mesothelioma. Research helps determine which asbestos fibers can cause cancer, how they cause cancer, and what levels of exposure are safe.

Mesothelioma research also focuses on finding new drug treatments, since traditional chemotherapy has not been very helpful. Some new approaches being studied include anti-angiogenesis drugs, which kill cancers by stopping their blood supply and anti-growth factor drugs, which interfere with substances cancer cells produce to stimulate their own growth.

Another area of mesothelioma research involves testing different combinations of traditional therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other types of treatment for those diagnosed with mesothelioma. Gene therapy is also being tested as a treatment for those with a mesothelioma diagnosis. Researchers modify special viruses in the laboratory, and then inject this modified virus into the chest space where it infects mesothelioma cells. The virus introduces a gene into the mesothelioma that may help activate the immune system cells to attack the cancer.

To get more information about mesothelioma research being conducted through clinical trials, visit the Mesothelioma Clinical Trials page.