An international randomized
clinical trial led by Queen Mary University of London implementing the new drug ADI-PEG20
(pegargiminase) demonstrated an increase in average survival by 1.6 months
and quadrupled the three-year survival rate of mesothelioma patients.
ADI-PEG20 acts as anti-cancer enzyme depleting arginine levels in the bloodstream,
consequently starving the tumor’s food supply and hindering its
growth. Patients who received ADI-PEG20 along with chemotherapy compared
to chemotherapy alone, experienced significantly better survival outcomes.
Lead researcher Dr. Peter Szlosarek stated, “It's truly wonderful
to see the research into the arginine starvation of cancer cells come
to fruition. This discovery is something I have been driving from its
earliest stages in the lab, with a new treatment, ADI-PEG20, now improving
patient lives affected by mesothelioma.”
The trial was conducted on 249 non-epithelioid (sarcomatoid or biphasic)
pleural mesothelioma patients and was well tolerated with a favorable
safety profile. The promising outcomes of ADI-PEG20 should warrant wider
clinical testing and application in cancer research.
Results are published in the journal
JAMA Oncology.