Molecular Characterization of Malignant Mesothelioma: Time for New Targets?

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive lethal malignancy for which very few therapeutic options exist. In this issue of Cancer Discovery, Hmeljak and colleagues report on a comprehensive integrative analysis of histology-independent genomic characteristics of MPM. They confirm previous observations that inactivation of tumor suppressor genes is the predominant oncogenic mechanism. This study provides a scientific rationale for potentially novel therapeutic options, including immune-checkpoint targeting VISTA and small-molecule inhibitors targeting the epigenome, DNA-repair pathways, and aurora kinase.See related article by Hmeljak et al., p. 1548.