How malignant mesothelioma is treated
Three kinds of treatment are used:
- Surgery - removal of the cancer
- Chemotherapy - drugs to fight the cancer
- Radiation therapy - using high dose high-energy rays or x-rays to kill cancer cells
Surgery is a common treatment of malignant mesothelioma. Depending on how far the cancer has spread, a lung also may be removed in an operation. However it may only be neccessary to remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. Sometimes part of the diaphragm the muscle below the lungs is removed.
If fluid has collected in the chest or abdomen, it may be necessary to drain the fluid from the body. The doctor may also put drugs through a tube into the chest to prevent more fluid from accumulating.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill the cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by a needle. It is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. With mesothelioma, chemotherapy may be put directly into the chest.
Radiation therapy uses x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes in the area where the cancer cells are found.
Intraoperative photodynamic therapy is a new type of treatment that uses special drugs and light to kill cancer cells during surgery. The drug that makes cancer cells more sensitive to light is injected into a vein days before surgery. During surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible, a special light is used to shine on the pleura. This treatment is being studied for early stages of mesothelioma in the chest.
adapted from the national cancer institute
Further Information
Mesothelioma Treatment - cancer.govInformation treatments, prevention, trials and more literature.
www.cancer.gov/
