Mesothelioma Treatment Options By Marcus Peterson Platinum Quality Author

Mesothelioma treatment options vary according to the age and over-all health of the patient, and the extent of the disease. Treatment options are often determined by the intensity of damage caused by the tumor. There are three staging systems currently in use for pleural mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelioma is not staged.

There are a number of treatment options available to mesothelioma patients. The treatments can be roughly categorized into traditional or conventional treatment, alternative methods, new treatment approaches and miscellaneous treatment. Nine out of ten cancer patients will find relief by using a combination of medications.

Traditional treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Age, contributing health problems, or advanced stage of tumor may make aggressive treatment impossible. In such conditions, alternative system is used. These specific treatments are not generally used or approved by medical doctors. New treatment approaches are research studies used to determine whether new drugs or treatments are safe and effective.

Tri-modality therapy combines surgery with radiation and chemotherapy. Photodynamic therapy is a highly experimental treatment using a drug that causes cells to become light sensitive. Immunotherapy, hemotherapy, intra-pleural interferon gamma therapy are some of the miscellaneous therapies. Gene therapy is an important tool under research. Almita is a newly approved drug. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is another technique that allows for radiation doses to be delivered to very complex shapes or to tumors with nearby normal structures.

Alternative medicinal systems like homeopathy have developed certain drugs which improve the immune system of the body to counter mesothelioma. Specific diet supplements and metabolic therapy are also recommended. Complementary methods like sticking to a vegetarian diet, exercise, vitamins, herbal remedies, or stress management can sometimes help a mesothelioma patient.

Treatment options for physical pain accompanying mesothelioma vary. Palliative care is a specialized form of care that alleviates pain and other symptoms. The type of pain treatment, using drugs, is called pharmacological therapy. Non-pharmacological therapies, those that do not rely primarily on medication to achieve effect, include therapeutic exercise and cognitive behavioral techniques such as deep breathing and muscle relaxation. Other alternative approaches include acupuncture and massage therapy.

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New Mesothelioma Treatment Research Shows Promise By Chris Kavila Platinum Quality Author

New mesothelioma treatment research to determine if chemotherapy before surgery and radiation can prevent mesothelioma recurrence could provide a major step forward for the treatment of this rare cancer of the lining of the chest caused by exposure to asbestos.

This new mesothelioma treatment study is an attempt to build on previous clinical trials that have shown promise at M.D. Anderson which involved extra pleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery where the affected lung and lining of the chest are removed. This is followed by Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).

What is really unique about this new mesothelioma treatment study is the fact that this is the first trial to investigate the use of chemotherapy before surgery and radiation.

Results Of Previous Trials Of This New Mesothelioma Treatment

Previous trials of this new mesothelioma treatment involving extrapleural pneumonectomy and IMRT was 90 per cent effective in preventing a local recurrence in patients. However about half the patients who underwent the trials got a recurrence in a different location. Quite often, this was the other lung or another part of the body.

Researchers into this new mesothelioma treatment add that chemotherapy before surgery and radiation usually reduce the possibility of the cancer spreading to another area away from the original site.

Visit the author's mesothelioma research blog for the latest mesothelioma research findings.