Mesothlioma gets more effective enemy

Main Point:

Scientists have reported the promising results of panobinostat along with cisplatin against mesothelioma tumor cells.

Published in:

Genetics and Molecular Research

Study Further:

Panobinostat is an experimental drug developed by Novartis – a pharmaceutical company. Although, it is still in its early stages of testing but has shown promising results in combination with cisplatin against mesothelioma.

“Cisplatin and panobinostat exposure of the cells for 24 h resulted in decreased cell survival. The combined treatment was found to be more effective,” Scientists noted.

This drug works by inhibiting the production of enzymes that enable mesothelioma cancer cells to grow at the molecular level. This process inhibits the spread of cancer cells.

After testing the combination against mesothelioma, scientists have found that mesothelioma cells were unable to survive in the laboratory setting but the healthy cells were mostly unaffected.

The same combination has also been tested successfully for other cancers such as multiple myeloma and lymphoma.

Although the results were impressive but these are initial results and scientists are planning to enter into a next phase of research, i.e. research on animals.

Reference:

Gultekin KE et al. (2013). Effects of cisplatin and panobinostat on human mesothelial (Met-5A) and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MSTO-211H) cells. Genetics and Molecular Research DOI: 10.4238/2013.November.11.2