Body Radiation Therapy for Mesothelioma
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Body Radiation Therapy for Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

Stereotactic body radiation therapy may be a safe treatment option for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. This is the finding of a team of researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a difficult cancer to treat. It develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers the lungs and chest wall. Signs and symptoms may include shortness of breath due to fluid around the lung, chest pain, cough, and fatigue. This cancer is caused by exposure to asbestos. It can often take around 40 years for pleural mesothelioma to begin. Pleural mesothelioma occurs in about 2,000 people in the United States every year. Conventional treatment may include surgery, radiation…

Avelumab May Offer a Second-Line Option for Recurrent Mesothelioma
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Avelumab May Offer a Second-Line Option for Recurrent Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

People with recurrent mesothelioma may get another chance at treatment with the immunotherapy drug avelumab. Malignant mesothelioma is highly resistant to standard cancer therapies. That means that the asbestos cancer usually comes back, or recurs, even after treatment. The most common treatment for mesothelioma is chemotherapy with Alimta. Alimta is the only drug approved specifically for mesothelioma. Patients with recurrent mesothelioma often have several rounds of chemotherapy with Alimta. But once the standard mesothelioma treatments stop working, patients do not have many options. Now a new study suggests that some cases of recurrent mesothelioma that stop responding to Alimta may respond to avelumab.   Considering Avelumab for Recurrent Mesothelioma Bavencio is the brand name for avelumab. It is a type…