Mesothelioma Treatment Research

The treatment of mesothelioma is usually palliative in nature. Mesothelioma cancer is not in the form of a tumor that can be removed. Only in the case of pleural mesothelioma is surgery a viable choice, and then only if the disease is still in its earlier stages. In this instance the surgeon will remove some or all of the pleural membranes, possibly with a portion of the chest wall and also possibly a lung.

Even if surgery is an option, usually it is combined with radiation therapy and chemotherapy. In recent years medical researchers have focused their efforts on extending the survival time for patients who have been diagnosed with advanced mesothelioma – by far the most common condition when diagnosis is completed.

The use of targeted chemotherapy is an example of how researchers are approaching mesothelioma today along with a number of other cancer types. Cells that can be programmed to attack or compromise cancer cells and then introduced into the afflicted area have become a common strategy for cancer treatment. Methods of targeting radiotherapy have also been introduced, in order to minimize the destruction of healthy cells adjacent to cancerous cells.

In general, researchers are looking for combinations of radiotherapy and chemotherapy that work best with certain types of mesothelioma cells (there are several) and in certain stages of the disease. Many choices for research are based on patients that have inoperable cases of the disease

Posted in: Mesothelioma