A vaccine designed to help the body fight the cancer mesothelioma is scheduled to be tested on 26 patients currently suffering from the rare and deadly form of cancer thanks in part to funding from the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund. The new vaccine is known as TroVax, and if the initial tests prove to be successful they could provide hope for mesothelioma victims all over the world.

TroVax works by triggering the body's immune system to produce antibodies which attack specific parts of cancer cells. These new immune cells can then be treated and altered in a laboratory so that they can be more capable of fighting off the deadly cancer cells. New antibodies are processed from these newly-treated cells and injected back into the patient's body.

Scientists have stated that the reason why TroVax and the antibodies that they hope to create should work is because they target the 5T4 protein present in most common cancerous tumors. 5T4 has recently been discovered in mesothelioma cells, a discovery that has the doctors participating in this trial very excited.

The patients participating in the study are also excited, as this could be the greatest chance they have of one day being free of a disease that would otherwise be a death sentence to them. Former hospital consultant Andrew Lawson has lived with mesothelioma for more than four years. He has participated in similar drug trials overseas, a gamble that he says contributed to his longevity and his ability to earn a degree from Oxford University. He recently told Meridian News if he had not participated in trials such as these, he believes that "the only other option was being dead."

Mesothelioma is a rare yet deadly form of cancer linked to exposure to asbestos. Diagnosis is often difficult since it shares symptoms with many other disorders and diseases. The worst of these symptoms often do not appear until years after the patient is exposed to asbestos, which can break into microscopic fibers that are easily inhaled into the lungs and attack the pleura, or the outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall. Once the disease is diagnosed, patients rarely survive for longer than a few years.

However, if the trials for TroVax and similar medications are successful, there may indeed be hope for those suffering from this deadly form of cancer after all.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Mesothelioma, you and/or your family may be entitled to compensation for damages from those responsible. Schedule a free consultation with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible to discuss your options.