Treatment Combination Used Most for Mesothelioma
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Treatment Combination Used Most for Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is being used by doctors to treat malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) more often. This is the finding of a study published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology. This is promising news because research has shown the CRS-HIPEC can be an effective treatment for patients with MPM. Mesothelioma Caused by Asbestos Exposure MPM is caused by exposure to a toxic material called asbestos. Most doctors believe it is caused from ingestion of asbestos fibers and that microscopic asbestos fibers become embedded in the abdomen. After about 20-50 years, these fibers can cause inflammation and mutations that ultimately caused tumors to form. This cancer occurs in less than 1,000 people in the United States…

Largest Study Shows HIPEC Treatment Effective for Mesothelioma
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Largest Study Shows HIPEC Treatment Effective for Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC) could be an effective treatment for malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM). This is the finding of one of the largest and longest studies on the use of CRS-HIPEC to treat MPM. Researchers from the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center looked at data from 111 patients over 28 years. Diagnosed with MPM MPM is an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos. Symptoms of MPM are usually noticed first in the abdomen or the gastrointestinal system. People might feel abdominal pain or swelling, fever, and night sweats. MPM occurs in less than 1,000 people in the United States every year and accounts for about 20-25% of all mesothelioma cases. Patients diagnosed with MPM have longer life expectancy…

Korean Cancer Doctors Embrace PIPAC for Mesothelioma
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Korean Cancer Doctors Embrace PIPAC for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Five out of ten Korean oncologists surveyed feel positive about using an aerosolized chemotherapy system called PIPAC for mesothelioma and other types of cancer. PIPAC stands for pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy. The system turns liquid chemotherapy drugs into a spray that can be applied with a nebulizer. It was developed to treat surface malignancies like peritoneal mesothelioma that can be hard to treat with standard methods.  PIPAC can be used in conjunction with mesothelioma surgery or by itself as either a palliative or curative treatment.  The technology is still very new. Many doctors have never used it. But research conducted by the Seoul National University College of Medicine shows Korean doctors are ready to embrace it. How Spray-on Chemotherapy Works…

New Surgical Technique May Support Long-Term Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival
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New Surgical Technique May Support Long-Term Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival

ByAlex Strauss

One of the nation’s top mesothelioma doctors says long-term peritoneal mesothelioma survival is possible with a far-reaching new surgical technique. Dr. Paul Sugarbaker is a surgeon with the Washington Cancer Institute in Washington, DC. He has studied peritoneal mesothelioma for decades.  In a new report, he outlines a case of long-term peritoneal mesothelioma survival in a female patient. The patient had cytoreductive surgery. The surgery included resection of the colonic mesentery. This is tissue that is not normally part of peritoneal mesothelioma surgery.  The case report shows the patient is still cancer-free four years after surgery with an “excellent” quality of life.  The Challenge of Peritoneal Mesothelioma Every year, about 2,500 Americans receive a diagnosis of mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelioma accounts…

Long Term Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival with NIPEC
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Long Term Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival with NIPEC

ByAlex Strauss

A new report suggests that long term peritoneal mesothelioma survival may be possible with a treatment called NIPEC and the drug paclitaxel.  NIPEC stands for normothermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. It is similar to the heated chemotherapy that many peritoneal mesothelioma patients now get. But NIPEC is delivered through a catheter over time and at room temperature.  The new article details the long term peritoneal mesothelioma survival of six patients on NIPEC with paclitaxel. It comes from one the nation’s leading experts in this form of mesothelioma, Paul Sugarbaker, MD.  Even though the sample size is small, Dr. Sugarbaker says the results are impressive enough to warrant further study.  HIPEC and Mesothelioma Treatment Peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for about 20 percent of mesothelioma…

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…

CRS/HIPEC Treatment Helps Double Survival Among Swedish Mesothelioma Patients
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CRS/HIPEC Treatment Helps Double Survival Among Swedish Mesothelioma Patients

ByAlex Strauss

A new report suggests that CRS/HIPEC treatment has helped to double the odds of surviving peritoneal mesothelioma in Sweden.  Researchers collected data from the Swedish National Cancer Registry. A total of 102 peritoneal mesothelioma cases were included from two separate 5-year time periods. The report shows that, since CRS/HIPEC treatment was introduced in Sweden, overall survival of peritoneal mesothelioma increased from 7 to 15 months. At 5 years, twice as many peritoneal mesothelioma patients were still alive. The researchers conclude that this is likely due, at least in part, to CRS/HIPEC treatment.  Surviving Peritoneal Mesothelioma Peritoneal mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that starts on the membrane lining the abdomen. It is almost always caused by accidental swallowing of microscopic asbestos…

Unresectable Peritoneal Mesothelioma Becomes Operable After Bi-Directional Chemotherapy
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Unresectable Peritoneal Mesothelioma Becomes Operable After Bi-Directional Chemotherapy

ByAlex Strauss

French researchers have successfully operated on a man with unresectable peritoneal mesothelioma after treating him with bi-directional chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the most common treatment for unresectable peritoneal mesothelioma. Most mesothelioma patients have chemotherapy by IV infusion. But some cancer centers now offer another chemotherapy delivery method. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy bypasses the bloodstream. It lets doctors put higher doses of cancer-killing medicine at the site of a tumor. The French team combined the two types of chemotherapy in one patient. It shrunk the patient’s unresectable peritoneal mesothelioma tumor enough to perform surgery.  Two Types of Mesothelioma Chemotherapy With IV chemotherapy, medicine travels to the tumor through the bloodstream. It is one way of treating unresectable peritoneal mesothelioma. One drawback of IV chemotherapy…

Large Study Finds Treatment Combination Leads to Long-Term Mesothelioma Survival
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Large Study Finds Treatment Combination Leads to Long-Term Mesothelioma Survival

ByAlex Strauss

There is more evidence that surgery and intraperitoneal chemotherapy can lead to long-term mesothelioma survival. The news comes from an Australian study of more than 1,200 cancer patients. The study finds that one in five peritoneal mesothelioma patients who had this treatment combination were still alive 10 years later.  Peritoneal Cancer Survival with Surgery  Peritoneal cancers occur on the lining of the abdomen. Peritoneal mesothelioma starts on this peritoneal membrane. Some other peritoneal cancers start elsewhere in the body and spread to the peritoneum. The new Australian study analyzed the cases of peritoneal cancer patients who had cytoreductive surgery between 1996 and 2018. Cytoreductive surgery aims to remove as much of the cancer as possible. Past studies have found that…

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…