Search Results for: cytoreductive surgery

Mesothelioma Surgery is Now Much Safer
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Mesothelioma Surgery is Now Much Safer

ByHolly Zink

Doctors have made huge improvements on a procedure called cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC). This is positive news for people for malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. Surgery as a Treatment CRS/HIPEC is a surgery that is used to treat cancers that are found on the surface of organs in the stomach area. This includes malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM). MPM is an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos. The cancer grows on the lining of the abdominal cavity. Symptoms of MPM are usually noticed first in the stomach area. People might feel abdominal pain or swelling, fever, and night sweats. MPM is the second most common form of mesothelioma. The most common type of this cancer is malignant pleural mesothelioma, which grows…

Peritoneal Mesothelioma and Palliative CRS/HIPEC Surgery
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Peritoneal Mesothelioma and Palliative CRS/HIPEC Surgery

ByHolly Zink

Peritoneal mesothelioma is the second most common form of asbestos cancer. Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the membrane around the abdominal organs. It can spread throughout the abdomen. Some peritoneal mesothelioma patients get good results with cytoreductive surgery. But success depends on many different factors. Surgical oncologists at the Medical College of Wisconsin are studying this question. Considering Surgery for Palliative Intent? Malignant mesothelioma is an especially aggressive cancer. The two primary types are pleural and peritoneal. Peritoneal mesothelioma used to be considered just as lethal as the more common pleural mesothelioma. But cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) have changed that. CRS involves removing as many of the cancer cells as possible. After surgery, the abdomen is cleaned with heated…

Chemotherapy Spray Could Make Surgery Possible for More Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients

Chemotherapy Spray Could Make Surgery Possible for More Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients

ByAlex Strauss

A technique that turns anti-cancer drugs into a chemotherapy spray could be a breakthrough for some peritoneal mesothelioma patients who were told they were not candidates for surgery.  The procedure is called PIPAC. It stands for pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy. It allows doctors to apply cancer-killing medication directly to the site of peritoneal mesothelioma tumors.  A new French study suggests that the chemotherapy spray, in combination with systemic chemotherapy, can shrink some tumors enough to completely remove them – even if doctors did not initially think resection was possible.  The study tracked several cases of successful surgery after standard chemotherapy and PIPAC. The retrospective study shows patients who had surgery experienced much longer progression-free survival than those who did not. …

New Study: PD Surgery and HITHOC for Pleural Mesothelioma
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New Study: PD Surgery and HITHOC for Pleural Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

German doctors say a combination of extended PD surgery and HITHOC has produced some ‘remarkable’ results for patients with pleural mesothelioma.  Extended PD (pleurectomy with decortication) is a lung-sparing surgical procedure for people with cancer on the pleural membrane around the lungs. HITHOC is a method for infusing the area with heated chemotherapy drugs without sending those drugs through the whole body.  Together, extended PD surgery and HITHOC produced median progression-free survival of more than a year and a half for mesothelioma patients in a new German study. Their experience is the focus of a new article in the journal Respiration.  Removing and Killing Cancer Cells: The One-Two Punch Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare cancer that starts on the…

Surgery for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Could Be Limited During Pandemic
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Surgery for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Could Be Limited During Pandemic

ByAlex Strauss

It may be harder this year for patients who need it to get surgery for peritoneal mesothelioma.  An international group called RENAPE keeps track of peritoneal cancers like mesothelioma. The group advises doctors on the best treatment practices. The group is advising hospitals to tighten the criteria for who can get surgery for peritoneal mesothelioma during the pandemic.  “The Covid-19 pandemic is profoundly changing the organization of healthcare access,” say French doctors writing about the RENAPE recommendations. “This is particularly so for peritoneal neoplastic diseases, for which curative treatment mobilizes substantial personnel, operating room and intensive care resources.” Mesothelioma Treatment Options Mesothelioma is a rare cancer associated with asbestos exposure. About a fifth of all mesothelioma cases are the peritoneal…

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Surgery with HIPEC Can Trigger Blood Cell Problems
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Peritoneal Mesothelioma Surgery with HIPEC Can Trigger Blood Cell Problems

ByAlex Strauss

More than half of patients who have peritoneal mesothelioma surgery with HIPEC develop problems with their blood cells afterward. That’s the finding of a team of cancer researchers from Singapore.  The group analyzed 15 years worth of data on peritoneal mesothelioma surgery outcomes. They found that, even though the procedure saves lives, it can be risky.  Older patients and those who had prior chemotherapy were most likely to develop hematological toxicities after peritoneal mesothelioma surgery.  Hematological Toxicities and Mesothelioma Treatment Hematological toxicities are problems with the cells that make up the blood. This can include white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, and proteins involved in bleeding and clotting.  Several drugs that kill mesothelioma cells can cause blood cell problems….

PIPAC May Make More Patients Candidates for Mesothelioma Surgery
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PIPAC May Make More Patients Candidates for Mesothelioma Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers in France have come up with a way to turn some people with inoperable peritoneal mesothelioma into good candidates for mesothelioma surgery.  They are using a new technique to spray chemotherapy drugs directly onto peritoneal tumors in order to shrink them.  In some cases, the technique shrunk mesothelioma tumors enough that they could be surgically removed with the CRS/HIPEC procedure.  What Makes a Good Candidate for Mesothelioma Surgery A number of factors influence whether patients are good candidates for mesothelioma surgery. Patients have to be in otherwise reasonably good health so that their body can handle the surgery. It is also critical that their mesothelioma not be so widespread in their abdomen that it would be impossible for surgeons…

Mesothelioma Quality of Life Improves After Surgery
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Mesothelioma Quality of Life Improves After Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

New research confirms that surgery followed by HIPEC improves mesothelioma quality of life for people with peritoneal disease. Every mesothelioma surgery carries risks and can cause serious side effects. These problems often have a negative impact on mesothelioma quality of life in the short term. But researchers at Wake Forest University say cytoreductive surgery followed by intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) boosts life quality for most mesothelioma patients over time. Evolving Management of Peritoneal Mesothelioma Malignant mesothelioma is a fast-growing cancer with a very low cure rate. Peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for about a fifth of all mesothelioma cases. With peritoneal mesothelioma, tumors start on the membrane that surrounds the abdominal organs and can spread to other parts of the body. Fatigue, pain,…

Study Confirms Feasibility and Safety of Minimally Invasive Mesothelioma Surgery
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Study Confirms Feasibility and Safety of Minimally Invasive Mesothelioma Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

New research suggests that the future of surgery for peritoneal mesothelioma could be much less invasive than it is now—at least for select patients. The study focused on patients with tumors that had spread to the peritoneal membrane that lines the abdomen. This is the place where malignant mesothelioma starts. In a report published in the journal Surgical Endoscopy, an international team of experts concludes that minimally invasive surgery for peritoneal cancers like malignant mesothelioma is both feasible and safe and should be considered for certain patients. CRS/HIPEC Standard of Care for Malignant Mesothelioma Currently, the standard of care for peritoneal mesothelioma is cytoreductive surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible followed by a rinse of heated…

New Study Examines Early Recurrence of Peritoneal Mesothelioma After Surgery
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New Study Examines Early Recurrence of Peritoneal Mesothelioma After Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

There is some good news and some bad news this week for patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer that occurs on the lining of the abdomen. Both come from a new article on peritoneal cancer published in the International Journal of Clinical Oncology. The good news is that most patients with peritoneal mesothelioma and other forms of cancer on the peritoneal membrane respond well to the multi-modal treatment regimen that has become the standard-of-care for this form of the asbestos cancer. A combination of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) allows most peritoneal cancer patients to “achieve long-term disease-free survival”, according to the study from the National Cancer Centre Singapore. But the more disturbing…