National Cancer Research Month is observed each May to highlight the importance of ongoing studies for mesothelioma and other cancers.
Many families across the country are affected by mesothelioma, and continued research is needed to identify better ways to diagnose, treat, and ultimately cure this disease.
May Is National Cancer Research Month
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) established National Cancer Research Month to show how science is helping people live longer, healthier lives after a cancer diagnosis.
Mesothelioma is a tough cancer to treat. Only around 3,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with it each year, and many patients don’t show symptoms until the disease has already spread. However, more mesothelioma patients are finding hope thanks to new research that has improved diagnostic tools and treatment options.
During National Cancer Research Month 2025, explore the latest advancements in mesothelioma care, and consider supporting research through donations or by joining a clinical trial.
Get our Free Mesothelioma Guide to read about treatments that could help you or a loved one live longer.
Why Mesothelioma Research Is So Important
National Cancer Research Month 2025 highlights the important progress being made to better manage cancers like mesothelioma.
A big part of this progress comes from clinical trials, where doctors test new treatments to see how safe and effective they are.
Mesothelioma clinical trials help:
- Continue the search for a cure
- Discover new ways to diagnose and treat this cancer
- Improve the prognosis (health outlook) of more patients
- Refine standard treatments and tests
“Things have improved somewhat, but not as much as I would like. That’s why we continue to do research — to try and make the treatment better. The rate of research is accelerating substantially.”
The AACR notes that there are more than 18 million cancer survivors living in the U.S. today. This number is projected to grow to 26 million survivors by 2040 thanks to lifesaving cancer research.
3 Recent Mesothelioma Cancer Research Breakthroughs
Even though mesothelioma is very rare, research efforts have made great strides in helping patients extend their survival and spend more time with loved ones.
Below, get the latest information on three crucial areas of mesothelioma research: immunotherapy, emerging treatments, and improved diagnostic tools.
1. Immunotherapies
Mesothelioma immunotherapy allows the body’s immune system to more effectively seek out and destroy cancer cells. This type of therapy is proof that cancer research can lead to significant benefits for mesothelioma patients.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an immunotherapy drug called Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) to treat mesothelioma in September 2024. A recent trial showed that patients with advanced mesothelioma lived for almost a year longer when treated with Keytruda and chemotherapy.
This breakthrough follows the approval of the first two immunotherapy drugs for mesothelioma, Opdivo® (nivolumab) and Yervoy® (ipilimumab), in October 2020.
Many other mesothelioma immunotherapies are being studied in clinical trials, including Imfinzi® (durvalumab), Imjudo® (tremelimumab), and Tecentriq® (atezolizumab).
Download our Free Immunotherapy Guide to learn if this type of treatment may be able to help you or a loved one live longer with mesothelioma.
2. Emerging Treatments
Researchers continue to investigate new mesothelioma treatments that could help improve patient life expectancy.
Notable emerging mesothelioma treatments include:
- Cryotherapy: Doctors freeze mesothelioma tumors to destroy them. Recent studies note that cryotherapy may be especially useful for mesothelioma recurrence (where tumors come back after initial treatment) and as a palliative therapy for pain relief.
- Gene therapy: This changes the genes of mesothelioma cells, making them easier to destroy. A new gene therapy, Reqorsa®, showed encouraging results in a preclinical study, giving hope for its use in treating mesothelioma and lung cancer.
- Photodynamic therapy: Mesothelioma cells are exposed to medication that makes them sensitive to light. Researchers noted that using immunotherapy made photodynamic therapy more effective for mesothelioma in a 2025 Cancer Research Communications study.
Doctors are also looking for ways to improve existing mesothelioma treatments and how to combine different therapies to benefit more patients.
3. Improved Diagnostic Tools
Outside of new treatments, cancer research also studies ways to more effectively diagnose mesothelioma. If a mesothelioma diagnosis is made before the cancer spreads, patients may be eligible for a wider range of treatments.
A 2025 study in Lung Cancer noted how a technique called cryobiopsy could help diagnose pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs (pleura).
Cryobiopsy involves freezing part of the pleura to extract a tissue sample for review under a microscope. Cryobiopsy could be more effective than a standard biopsy, which is currently the benchmark in confirming a diagnosis.
Another study from Mayo Clinic noted how blood-based DNA testing could help doctors more easily diagnose mesothelioma. This involves the use of cell-free DNA. Doctors connect pieces of DNA to mesothelioma cells so they will show up in blood samples.
How to Participate in National Cancer Research Month 2025
You and your family can play a vital part in advocating for more research into mesothelioma and other cancers.
You can get involved by:
- Donating to organizations: The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization are just two of many groups that directly support mesothelioma research.
- Joining a clinical trial: Ask your mesothelioma doctor if there are clinical trials that could help you or a loved one. Participating in a clinical trial may give you access to new therapies and help further the medical community’s understanding of this cancer.
- Raising awareness: Because mesothelioma is so rare, it’s important to spread the word about it and encourage others to support research efforts.
Any way you choose to participate, no matter how big or small, will make an impact during National Cancer Research Month.
Get Help Accessing New Mesothelioma Treatments
Thanks to diagnostic and treatment options currently being studied, patients may live longer, experience fewer symptoms, and find hope.
At Mesothelioma Hope, we closely follow the latest cancer research breakthroughs so we can help as many families as possible.
Our Patient Advocates can connect you with:
- New mesothelioma treatments and clinical trials
- Skilled doctors and cancer centers in your area
- Support options to navigate life after a diagnosis
Get our Free Mesothelioma Guide or call (866) 608-8933 to see how we can assist you or a loved one.
