Mesothelioma Patients and Alternative Treatment
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Mesothelioma Patients and Alternative Treatment

ByHolly Zink

A study from Stanford University describes two mesothelioma patients who experienced an improvement in their condition without clinical treatment. This is a rare occurrence for patients with mesothelioma, even with the usual treatment. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that grows in the lining of organs. This usually happens in the lungs or abdomen. It can also occur in the testis and the heart. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos and can be hard to treat. Multimodal treatment is a common option because it involves more than one type of treatment. These are usually chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. These types of treatments can be very hard on the body. Patients who are already frail when they arrive at the hospital…

Predicting How a Patient Will Respond to Mesothelioma Treatment
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Predicting How a Patient Will Respond to Mesothelioma Treatment

ByHolly Zink

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare cancer. Early diagnosis is challenging. Treatments are the first clinical option in the advanced disease stage. A doctor’s initial clinical response says a lot about the patient’s prognosis. It may even represent a useful way to identify patients with a better long-term outcome. A new Italian study from the Journal of Clinical Medicine looks at this possibility. First Mesothelioma Treatment Response Options Scientists looked at the initial treatment response in 46 mesothelioma patients who had pleural mesothelioma. None of these patients had surgery as an option because their tumors were considered inoperable. The doctor’s initial treatment response included a CT scan and clinical examination. This examination was usually after 2–3 cycles of drug therapy….

Future Mesothelioma Treatment
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Future Mesothelioma Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

A combination of immunotherapy and traditional  may be more effective than either treatment alone against mesothelioma, according to a recent analysis published in the journal, Tissue Antigens. Mesothelioma is one of the most difficult cancers to treat, and the prognosis is often poor. Surgery and chemotherapy are the standard mesothelioma treatments, but even with these therapies many patients do not live more than a year after their diagnosis. A newer treatment option is immunotherapy, which enhances the immune system response to help the body attack cancer cells. Because mesothelioma engages the immune system, immunotherapy would appear to be a promising treatment strategy for this cancer. However, studies conducted so far on immunotherapy for mesothelioma have yielded disappointing results. Combining immunotherapy…