Mesothelioma
Treatment
How is mesothelioma treated?
Treatment for mesothelioma depends on the location of the cancer, the stage
of the disease, and the patient's age and general health. Standard treatment
options include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Sometimes, these
treatments are combined.
- Surgery is a common treatment for mesothelioma. The doctor may
remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around
it. For cancer of the pleura (pleural mesothelioma), a lung may be removed in
an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the
muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.
- Radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy, involves the use of
high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy
affects the cancer cells only in the treated area. The radiation may come from
a machine (external radiation) or from putting materials that produce radiation
through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found
(internal radiation therapy).
- Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells
throughout the body. Most drugs used to treat mesothelioma are given by
injection into a vein (intravenous, or IV). Doctors are
also studying the effectiveness of putting chemotherapy directly into the chest
or abdomen (intracavitary chemotherapy).
To relieve symptoms and control pain, the doctor may use a needle or a thin
tube to drain fluid that has built up in the chest or abdomen. The procedure
for removing fluid from the chest is called thoracentesis. Removal of fluid
from the abdomen is called paracentesis. Drugs may be given through a tube in
the chest to prevent more fluid from accumulating. Radiation therapy and
surgery may also be helpful in relieving symptoms.
- Are new treatments for mesothelioma being studied?
Yes. Because
mesothelioma is very hard to control, the National Cancer Institute is sponsoring clinical trials (research studies with
people) that are designed to find new treatments and better ways to use current
treatments. Before any new treatment can be recommended for general use,
doctors conduct clinical trials to find out whether the treatment is safe for
patients and effective against the disease. Participation in clinical trials is
an important treatment option for many patients with mesothelioma.
People interested in taking part in a clinical trial should talk with their
doctor. Information about clinical trials is available from the Cancer
Information Service (CIS) (see below) at 1–800–4–CANCER.
Information specialists at the CIS use PDQ®, NCI's cancer information
database, to identify and provide detailed information about specific ongoing
clinical trials. Patients also have the option of searching for clinical trials
on their own. The clinical trials page on the NCI's
Web site on the Internet,
provides general information about clinical trials.
People considering clinical trials may be interested in the NCI booklet
Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What Cancer Patients Need To Know. This
booklet describes how research studies are carried out and explains their
possible benefits and risks. The booklet is available by calling the CIS, or
from the NCI Publications Locator Web site at
http://www.cancer.gov"
on the Internet.
Reprinted with Permission
of The National Cancer Institute©.
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