In the past few years, several studies have addressed the possibility of using immunotherapies to treat patients with mesothelioma. Herein, we discuss two recent trials, one testing the immune-checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab and the other testing a mesothelin-directed therapeutic vaccine, and reflect on the advances and challenges remaining in this research area.
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Acknowledgements
The research of A.K.N. is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Research Excellence Grant.
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A.K.N. has been a paid consultant or adviser for Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD and Roche; has been a consultant or adviser with fees to her institution for Atara, Douglas and Pharmabcine; has received travel funding from AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim; and her institution receives research funding to institution from AstraZeneca and Douglas Pharmaceuticals. P.M.F. has been an unpaid consultant or adviser for Abbvie, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), EMD Serono, Inivata, Janssen, Merck and Novartis, and his institution receives research funding from AstraZeneca, BMS, Corvus, Kyowa and Novartis.
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Nowak, A.K., Forde, P.M. Immunotherapy trials in mesothelioma — promising results, but don’t stop here. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 16, 726–728 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-019-0291-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-019-0291-4