Mesothelioma Treatment

Mesothelioma treatment depends on several factors, including the stage of mesothelioma, the location of the tumor, and the age and overall health of the patient.

1. Surgery - Removal of Mesothelioma
2. Radiation - Radiotherapy
3. Chemotherapy
4. New Mesothelioma Treatments
5. Photodynamic Therapy
6. Gene Therapy
7. Immunotherapy
8. Multimodality Therapy
9. Stage IV Mesothelioma Treatmen
   

Surgery - Removal of Mesothelioma
Surgical removal of the tumor and surrounding tissue may be done depending on how far the mesothelioma has spread (the stage). The more advanced the stage, the less likely that surgery will be effective in treating mesothelioma.

Radiation - Radiotherapy
Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill mesothelioma cancer cells and to shrink tumors. There are two types of radiation therapy.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to treat cancer. Chemotherapy can be administeredorally (by mouth) or by injection into the muscles. However, for mesothelioma, as with other cancers chemotherapy agents are usually injected into the veins (intravenously). Sometimes the chemotherapy agents can be put directly into the chest cavity (intrapleurally)in the case of pleural mesothelioma or the abdominal cavity (intraperitoneally), in the case of peritoneal meothelioma. The goal of mesothelioma chemotherapy is for the drug destroy the cancer cells while sparing normal cells as much as possiible.

New Mesothelioma Treatments
New mesothelioma treatments are being evaluated in mesothelioma clinical trials in hopes of a mesothelioma cure. Mesothelioma clinical trials are research studies that evaluate new mesothelioma treatments for safety and efficiency. There are no guarantees that a treatment offered through a mesothelioma clinical trial will work, and because the treatments are in the trial stage, there are some risks. However, a mesothelioma clinical trial is not undertaken unless the researchers believe the treatment may have some value.

Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) involves administering photosensitive drugs into the mesothelial cells. Doctors then use a laser light to activate the photosensitive drugs in order to destroy the surrounding cancer cells.

Gene Therapy
Gene therapy is used to correct disease at the DNA level by compensating for abnormal genes. Several types of gene therapy are currently being studied for the treatment of mesothelioma. Although this treatment has proved successful in animal studies, the results in human studies have been disappointing.

Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy seeks to improve the immune system’s natural ability to fight cancer. Studies have shown that the immune system distinguishes healthy cells from cancer cells in order to eliminate the cancerous cells.

Multimodality Therapy
This type of therapy simply means the use of any combination of surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy to treat mesothelioma. The most common form combines surgery with intercavitary radiation or chemotherapy, both before and after, to remove and eliminate mesothelioma.

Alternative Treatment
Given the relatively unsuccessful results of conventional medicine in treating mesothelioma and that there is still no mesothelioma cure, a number of persons have turned to alternative mesothelioma treatments. These have included holistic forms of treatment, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, herbs, and other forms of Eastern medicine to treat mesothelioma.

Stage IV Mesothelioma Treatment
Patients with stage IV malignant pleural mesothelioma have cancer that is considered inoperable and has spread to the opposite side of the chest or to distant sites. Patients with recurrent or refractory malignant pleural mesothelioma have cancer that has failed primary treatment or recurred after an initial response.