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Angelo Butera
BME 181
February 19th 2013
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Cancer of the mesothelium (protective
organ covering)
Most common in the pleura
Produces pleural effusion (additional fluid)
Caused by as little as 1-3 months of
exposure to asbestos
Survival: Average <2 years, up to 5 with
radical treatments.
Developed by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center and Eureka Therapeutics to treat
mesothelioma
 As proteins are broken down inside cells,
fragments (peptides) are brought to cell surface.
 GL-ONC1 is a lab-created antibody that can read
these peptides, effectively letting it “see” inside
the cell.
 This allows it to target cells based on the internal
proteins, where up until this point we could only
target external proteins.
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WT1 is a protein that is overexpressed in
many leukemias, myeloma, breast, ovarian,
rectal cancer.
It is an oncogenic protein (promotes cancer
development)
Found in very few healthy cells, and in small
amounts.
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Mesothelioma has a very high amount of WT1
present in the cancerous cells.
Doctors will take the modified immune
system cells (GL-ONC1), and attempt to use
them in combination with radiation, chemo
and a variety of other drugs to combat
various cancers.
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Human trials started earlier this month, with
5 patients taking part
All of these patients had mesothelioma, or a
similarly severe cancer.
3/5 have gone into long-term remission, with
one entering remission within 8 days of
receiving treatment.
Long term effects, etc. still must be studied,
but it seems promising.
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Gherardi, James. "Lynchburg Doctor: New Cancer Treatment Could Change
Medicine For - WSET.com - ABC13." Lynchburg Doctor: New Cancer Treatment
Could Change Medicine For - WSET.com - ABC13. ABC News, 29 Mar. 2013.
Web. 31 Mar. 2013.
Hool, Caitlin. "New Monoclonal Antibody Developed That Can Target
Proteins inside Cancer Cells." New Monoclonal Antibody Developed That Can
Target Proteins inside Cancer Cells. EurekAlert, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 31 Mar.
2013.
Meredith, Nancy. "Pleural Mesothelioma Patients Wanted to Test Novel
Treatment in Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Clinical Trial."
Mesothelioma Help. N.p., 5 Mar. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2013.
"Mesothelioma." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Mar. 2013. Web. 31
Mar. 2013.
"Physicians at NYC Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Begin "First-InMan" Drug Therapy on Mesothelioma Patients." SFGate. N.p., 6 Mar. 2013.
Web. 31 Mar. 2013.