During the July 2014 board meeting of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, mesothelioma expert and executive director of the Meso Foundation, Mary Hesdorffer, APRN, stated that mesothelioma patients today have more promising clinical trials to choose from than ever before.
In her talk, she mentioned several trials that have been reporting increased survival and response rates. Some include novel radiation treatments, while the focus of others is within the field of immunotherapy. One trial, in particular, is looking very promising with a 69% durable response in a small group of patients. Ms. Hesdorffer stated that a new, larger trial currently underway is looking to confirm these results.
“A clinical trial is a unique opportunity for a patient to try something new and innovative that could have a very positive impact on the patient’s disease,” said Ms. Hesdorffer. “Having options is an important step forward in a disease that merely a decade ago was seen as hopeless,” she added.
Ms. Hesdorffer provides free consultations about clinical trials, as well as other issues pertaining to mesothelioma, as part of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation’s patient services.
“While healthcare providers aren’t able to review all clinical trial options with their patients due to time constrains, at the Meso Foundation it is our job to spend the necessary time to go through all viable options while taking into consideration insurance coverage, stage of disease, histology and readiness to participate in a clinical trial,” added Ms. Hesdorffer.
Mary Hesdorffer, MS, APRN-BC, is a nurse practitioner with over 16 years of experience in mesothelioma treatment. She is an expert in mesothelioma clinical trials and her work has been published in a variety of scientific journals.
The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has recently released a downloadable brochure about mesothelioma clinical trials, which can also be requested by mail, and lists all mesothelioma clinical trials on its website.
