Katja Goričar

By Katja Goričar and Vita Dolžan

Part of the book: Advances in DNA Repair

By Alenka Franko, Vita Dolzan, Katja Goricar and Metoda Dodic Fikfak

Asbestos-related diseases, including asbestosis, benign pleural diseases, lung cancer, other types of cancer, and especially malignant mesothelioma (MM), still represent an enormous problem all over the world and are among the most investigated occupational diseases. Considering that MM is a highly aggressive and severe malignant cancer of pleura, peritoneum and other serosal surfaces, new blood biomarkers for earlier diagnosis, following response to treatment and disease progression, have been intensively investigated. Several studies suggested that soluble mesothelin-related peptides, fibulin-3, survivin, osteopontin, vimentin, calretinin, and many others could be helpful in diagnosis, detecting the progression of MM and evaluating tumour response to treatment; however, these biomarkers have not been validated in clinical practice. Therefore, search for novel better stand-alone or composite biomarkers is under way. The aim of this chapter is to present the importance of blood biomarkers in evaluating the risk of developing asbestos-related diseases, early diagnosis, following the response to treatment and progression of these diseases, with special emphasis on MM.

Part of the book: Asbestos-related Diseases

By Danijela Štrbac, Katja Goričar, Viljem Kovač and Vita Dolžan

The established treatments in malignant mesothelioma are based on trimodality approach including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Such approach has proved to clinically benefit mesothelioma patients, however the current treatments seem to have reached a limit regarding the survival and disease control. One approach to overcome the limitations of current treatments is focused on finding appropriate serum or genetic biomarkers that could support personalized medicine and improve outcomes with established treatment modalities in mesothelioma patients. The other approach is exploiting better understanding of molecular and genetic characteristics of mesothelioma to search for new treatment modalities. Immunotherapy with anti PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 agents is a new frontier in mesothelioma treatment. As in many solid tumors, CAR-T cell therapy is emerging from the field of hematological malignancies. Immunomodulatory approaches seem to be a new perspective in treatment of malignant mesothelioma. This chapter aims to explore possible new therapeutic approaches in mesothelioma.

Part of the book: Mesothelioma