University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center researchers have secured a $2.5 million National Cancer Institute grant to advance mesothelioma research by improving diagnosis and treatment for the disease. The competitive R01 grant is awarded to only 9% of applicants.
The research is led by Haining Yang and Michele Carbone, in collaboration with Taylor Ripley, a thoracic surgeon at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.
The UH Cancer Center team has made significant progress in uncovering the mechanisms of mesothelioma. For the past 24 years, they have consistently secured the highest amount of federal funding dedicated to mesothelioma research.
Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that primarily affects the thin tissue lining of the chest and abdomen, resulting in approximately 3,200 deaths annually in the U.S. In Hawaiʻi, there are about 10 cases of mesothelioma per year. Often caused by asbestos exposure, mesothelioma also has a familial form linked to inherited genetic mutations of BAP1, discovered earlier by Carbone and Yang.
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“We have made an impact in the lives of many people around the world, including over 100 families we are following in the U.S. and abroad who are affected by familial genetically related mesothelioma,” said Yang. “Recently, the NCI has opened two clinical trials for early detection and surgical removal of mesothelioma and other early cancer lesions, and we are saving many lives.”
Research impacts survivor
Suellen Crano, who has lived with mesothelioma for more than two decades, has been impacted by Yang and Carbone’s research. A California resident, she began her journey with the disease, when she sought treatment for an ear infection and her general practitioner saw that she was very sick. After undergoing several negative tests she was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma.
They strive to answer many questions about mesothelioma, which is poorly understood by most of us who live with it.
—Suellen Crano
“Drs. Carbone and Yang are constantly searching for breakthroughs, like the one they recently made about a rare genetic mutation that I have. Their study may change how mesothelioma patients are diagnosed and treated,” Crano shared. “Their work is so important because they strive to answer many questions about mesothelioma, which is not a common disease and is poorly understood by most of us who live with it.”
Considered an “orphan disease” by the U.S. Congress due to limited pharmaceutical interest, mesothelioma research relies heavily on federal funding, donations from nonprofit organizations, and private philanthropy.
Carbone added, “We are very proud of what we are doing. Our future research efforts will focus on advancing novel therapeutic strategies for mesothelioma and beyond, hoping to figure out how to make all patients capable of fighting the growth of mesothelioma.”
