Mesothelioma Patient is Participant in Novartis Clinical Trial

Novartis Pharmaceuticals is conducting a Phase I clinical trial on one of its newly developed cancer drugs currently referred to as LDE 225. Developed to inhibit hedgehog- and smoothened-dependent proliferation in vivo (in live isolated cells), it targets patients with advanced solid tumors. One of the expected 58 trial participants, being treated at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, has inoperable mesothelioma.

With this drug the researchers are trying to cut off the protein, the hedgehog pathway in this case, resulting in increased apoptosis (death of the cancer cells) and decreased proliferation in the cancer cells, thus prohibiting the cells from growing and dividing.

The mesothelioma patient is a 61 year-old male from Derbyshire, England, who had been exposed to asbestos as a joiner. He could not tolerate the chemotherapy treatments, and after only 4 months he had to stop the treatments. His doctors then told him there was nothing else they could do for him.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer typically affecting the lining of the lungs. Primarily caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers, most cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed 30 years or more after exposure. While there is no known cure for mesothelioma, it can sometimes be treated through the use of surgical procedures, chemotherapy and radiation.

The participant criteria for this trial is for patients with a confirmed diagnosis of advanced solid tumor (including medulloblastoma and basal cell carcinoma), who are relatively healthy otherwise. The trials are being conducted internationally including sites in the United States, Spain, and England.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in New Jersey, has a mission to discover and develop innovative medicines to fight cancer.

Sources:
Novartis LDE 225
LDE 225 Clinical Trial
Meso Patient in Trial