Mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive cancer, usually caused by exposure to asbestos. Inhaled asbestos fibers become lodged in the lungs, causing inflammation that can lead to tumor formation decades later. Worldwide, about 30,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.

Current treatments—immunotherapy and chemotherapy—offer limited benefit. Patients—often men who worked in shipbuilding, oil refining and asbestos manufacturing—face a median survival of approximately 12 months and a five-year survival rate of around 10%.

“It’s a disease of a significant unmet medical need,” says Brian Cunniff, a professor at the University of Vermont.