Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment
There are treatments for all patients with malignant mesothelioma. Uses three kinds of treatment:

* Surgery (taking out the cancer)

* Radiation therapy (using high doses of X-rays or other high-energy rays

to kill cancer cells)

* Chemotherapy (using drugs to fight cancer)

Surgery is a common treatment for malignant mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue lying around. Depending on how far the cancer has spread, you can also remove a lung in an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes it also removes some of the muscle beneath the lungs that helps breathing (the diaphragm).

Radiation therapy using high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy) or from putting materials that C (radioisotopes) and applied to the area where cancer cells are found through thin plastic tubes (internal radiation therapy).

If fluid has accumulated in the chest or abdomen, the doctor may drain the body by inserting a needle into the chest or abdomen and pulling with gentle suction. If fluid is removed from the chest, a procedure called thoracentesis, whereas if the procedure is performed in the abdomen is called paracentesis. The doctor may also put drugs into the chest through a tube to prevent the accumulation of extra fluid.

Chemotherapy involves using drugs to kill cancer cells. These can be taken orally or injected into a vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. In the case of mesothelioma, a drug may be administered directly into the chest (intrapleural chemotherapy).

Intraoperative photodynamic therapy is a new type of treatment that uses special drugs and light to kill cancer cells during surgery. To do this, is injected into a vein a drug that makes cancer cells more sensitive to light several days before surgery. During surgery to remove as much cancer as possible, a special light is used to illuminate the pleura. This treatment is being studied for early stages of mesothelioma in the chest.

Treatment by stage
Treatment depends on where the cancer is, how the disease has spread, your age and health status in general.

You might consider a treatment that is considered standard based on their effectiveness in a number of patients in past studies, or may choose to take part in a clinical trial. Not all patients are cured with standard therapy and some standard treatments may have more side effects than are desired. For these reasons, clinical trials are designed to find better ways to treat cancer patients and are based on the most current information. Are conducting clinical trials in various parts of the country for many patients with malignant mesothelioma.