Mesothelioma Blog

It’s called suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), and it may be one of a new arsenal of drugs that doctors can use to prolong the lives of mesothelioma patients.

The potential mesothelioma drug interferes with the action of an enzyme called histone deacetlyase. This enzyme is critical to genetic transcription, and thus crucial to cellular growth. SAHA is a histone deacetlyase inhibitor, a class of drugs which have been long used to treat mood disorders, and have recently been recruited in the fight against mesothelioma and other cancers.

One of the great difficulties in treating cancers such as mesothelioma is achieving great potency without creating a treatment that is deadly to the patient. In early laboratory testing completed in 2000, SAHA showed the ability to shrink prostate cancer cells without evidencing any toxicity in the test subjects.

Since 2000, SAHA under the trade name Vorionostat, has been tested for its ability to fight other forms of cancer including T-cell lymphoma. In late 2008 drug manufacturer Merck called for volunteers for Phase III trials of the drug. Merck wishes to study the effects of SAHA on advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma. Testing is slated for Austin, Texas and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Phase III trial seeks to discover the toxicity and effectiveness of orally administered doses of SAHA over a two-week period, followed by a seven day fallow period. The study will continue until it is clear the SAHA is not affecting the mesothelioma, or the trial subject experiences unhealthy levels of drug toxicity.

If SAHA shows the same promise against mesothelioma that it has against lymphoma, mesothelioma suffers will have another weapon in their fight against this deadly disease.