What are the treatments you undergo for mesothelioma depends on your certain aspects of your health and cancer, as the stage and localization. Unfortunately, mesothelioma is often an aggressive disease and for most people a cure is not possible. Mesothelioma is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage - when it is not possible to remove the cancer through surgery. Instead, your doctor may work to control your cancer to make you more comfortable.
Discuss treatment goals with your doctor. Some people want to do everything they can to treat their cancer, even if it means that the lasting side effects for a small chance of improvement. Others prefer treatments that make them comfortable so they can live their remaining symptoms as possible.
SurgerySurgeons work to remove mesothelioma when it is diagnosed at an early stage. In some cases, it can cure cancer.
Sometimes it is not possible to remove all the cancer. In these cases, surgery can help reduce the signs and symptoms caused by mesothelioma spreading in your body.
Surgical options may include:
Surgery to reduce fluid accumulation. Pleural mesothelioma can cause a buildup of fluid in the chest, causing breathing difficulties. Surgeons insert a tube or catheter in your chest to drain fluid. Doctors can also inject drugs in your chest to prevent fluid return (pleurodesis).Surgery to remove tissue around the lungs or abdomen. Surgeons can remove the tissue that lines the ribs and lungs (pleurectomy) or the tissue that lines the abdominal cavity (peritonectomy). This procedure will not cure mesothelioma, but can relieve the signs and symptoms.Surgery to remove as much cancer as possible (debulking). If all of the cancer can not be removed, surgeons may try to eliminate as much as possible. Debulking allows doctors to direct treatment more precise radiation therapy to relieve pain and fluid buildup caused by mesothelioma.Surgery to remove a lung and surrounding tissues. Removing the affected lung and tissue around it can relieve the signs and symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. If you receive radiation therapy to the breast after surgery, this procedure also allows doctors to use higher doses because they will not need to worry about protecting your lungs from harmful radiation.ChemotherapyChemotherapy uses chemicals to kill cancer cells. Systemic chemotherapy travels throughout the body and can shrink or slow the growth of mesothelioma that can not be removed by surgery. Chemotherapy can also be used before surgery (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) for easier operation or after surgery (adjuvant chemotherapy) to reduce the risk that the cancer will come back.
Chemotherapy drugs can also be heated and administered directly into the abdominal cavity (intraperitoneal chemotherapy), in the case of peritoneal mesothelioma, or the thoracic cavity (intrapleural chemotherapy) in the case of pleural mesothelioma. With this strategy, chemotherapy drugs can reach the mesothelioma directly without harming healthy cells in other parts of the body. This allows doctors to administer higher doses of chemotherapy drugs.
RadiotherapyRadiation therapy focuses the high-energy beams, such as X-rays, in one place or at specific locations on your body. Radiation therapy may reduce signs and symptoms in people with pleural mesothelioma. Radiation therapy is sometimes used after a biopsy or surgery to prevent mesothelioma spread to the surgical incision.
Clinical trialsClinical trials are studies of new methods of treatment of mesothelioma. People with mesothelioma can opt for a clinical trial for a chance to try new types of treatment. However, recovery is not guaranteed. Carefully consider your treatment options and talk to your doctor about what clinical trials are open for you. Your participation in a clinical trial may help physicians better understand how to treat mesothelioma in the future.
Clinical trials are currently investigating a number of targeted drugs. Targeted drug therapy uses drugs to attack specific abnormalities in cancer cells. Targets studied in mesothelioma include a substance that cancer cells are to attract new blood vessels that bring oxygen and nutrients to cancer. Researchers hope drugs that target these areas can help kill mesothelioma cells.
Treatment for other types of mesotheliomaPericardial mesothelioma and mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis are very rare. Cancer at an early stage can be removed by surgery. Doctors have yet to determine the best way to treat cancer later stage, though. Your doctor may recommend other treatments to improve your quality of life
