Recently, researchers determined that the serum protein, survivin, might help predict a patient’s mesothelioma treatment response. By testing the levels of the protein in 78 blood samples of mesothelioma patients, Slovenian researchers found that post-chemotherapy protein levels can help determine their response to treatment as well as their overall survival.
Blood samples were tested before and after chemotherapy, and when their mesothelioma tumor growth reoccurred. The researchers found that mesothelioma patients who had an increase in survivin levels after treatment tended to have a better chemotherapy response than those whose levels dropped. The patients with increased levels also tended to experience longer progression-free survival.
Given that the survival rates of mesothelioma patients can be so short, this is excellent news. Patients who are given one to two years to live after diagnosis should not have to waste precious time waiting to see if their treatment is working. This biomarker could help quickly and accurately determine if chemotherapy is a viable treatment option for the patient.
See our Treatment Options page to see what other mesothelioma treatments are available for patients.
Source: Surviving Mesothelioma