We sit down with Chuong D. Hoang, MD, thoracic surgical oncologist at the National Cancer Institute to discuss his new hydrogel based therapy for mesothelioma. Dr. Hoang’s research has just been published in Nature Nanotechnology https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-021-00961-w. Dr. Hoang was a previous recipient of Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation’s funding. In this interview he also discusses surgical trials available to patients today at the NCI.
Mesothelioma is a tumor that spreads as a layer (is not concentrated in one mass, rather it often spreads over a wide area of tissue), making its surgical removal extremely difficult. Following surgery, microscopic amounts of residual cancer usually remain in the debulked area and until now, few options have existed to neutralize them. Some recently tested solutions have included local chemotherapy washes as well as radiation therapy to the area. While the tried approaches have marginal effectiveness, none have been shown to be game changers in the treatment of mesothelioma.
This new hydrogel developed by the NCI group is not yet available in human trials, but Dr. Hoang hopes it will be soon.
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