Surgery-Based Multimodal Treatment Improves Survival for Italian Mesothelioma Patients
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Surgery-Based Multimodal Treatment Improves Survival for Italian Mesothelioma Patients

ByAlex Strauss

A new Italian report suggests that a surgery-based multimodal treatment approach to mesothelioma can help patients live longer with few serious side effects.  The new study comes from Careggi University Hospital in Florence. Thoracic oncologists tracked the outcomes of 12 of their mesothelioma patients since 2017. All of the patients had early-stage pleural mesothelioma of the epithelioid subtype. Results showed that none of them died within the first year after surgery-based multimodal treatment. More than half lived for at least three years.  These are considered very positive results for a cancer that often claims lives within months of diagnosis.  Understanding Surgery-Based Multimodal Treatment Some types of cancer can be successfully treated with just one type of therapy. Pleural mesothelioma is…

HITOC for Mesothelioma: Benefits May Outweigh the Risk
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HITOC for Mesothelioma: Benefits May Outweigh the Risk

ByAlex Strauss

The benefits of a localized chemotherapy regimen known as HITOC for mesothelioma outweigh the small risk of kidney failure for most patients.  That is the conclusion of a new study published in the journal Cancers. German researchers conducted a retrospective review of the medical literature on HITOC (also called HITHOC) in pleural mesothelioma patients.  They were most interested in patients who developed kidney problems after the procedure. This is a known risk with HITOC for mesothelioma. But the study suggests that most patients benefit from this type of chemotherapy in spite of the risk. Localized Treatment Versus Systemic Treatment Pleural mesothelioma tumors start on the membrane around the lungs and are hard to treat. Once this cancer takes hold, most…

HITHOC for Pleural Mesothelioma: “Safe, Feasible and Effective”
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HITHOC for Pleural Mesothelioma: “Safe, Feasible and Effective”

ByAlex Strauss

A newly published study says a localized form of chemotherapy called HITHOC for pleural mesothelioma is “safe, feasible, and effective.” Researchers from Italy’s University of Pisa conducted the study. They did a thorough review of the medical literature on the procedure since 1994.  They conclude that HITHOC for pleural mesothelioma after surgery keeps tumors in check and improves survival. The downside is that there is not enough standardization in how doctors use the procedure.  How HITHOC for Pleural Mesothelioma Works HITHOC stands for hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy. Standard mesothelioma chemotherapy enters the whole body at once through the bloodstream. That is one reason that many mesothelioma patients on chemotherapy have side effects like nausea and low white blood cell counts.  HITHOC…

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…

HITHOC Treatment Deemed Safe for Some Pleural Mesothelioma Patients
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HITHOC Treatment Deemed Safe for Some Pleural Mesothelioma Patients

ByAlex Strauss

German doctors testing the HITHOC treatment for pleural mesothelioma say it is a “safe therapeutic option”. The key to success is careful patient selection. Pleural mesothelioma is a rare cancer linked to asbestos. Tumors grow on the membrane that surrounds the lungs. Doctors have not yet found a cure for mesothelioma.  HITHOC treatment involves rinsing heated chemotherapy drugs through the chest after mesothelioma surgery. The new study suggests that this advanced approach may help certain mesothelioma patients live longer.  Understanding Pleural Mesothelioma Tumors To understand how HITHOC treatment works, it is important to understand how and where mesothelioma tumors grow.  Pleural mesothelioma tumors start on the lining around the lungs called the pleura. As tumors grow, the pleura thickens and…

Chemotherapy During Mesothelioma Surgery: Is it Dangerous?
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Chemotherapy During Mesothelioma Surgery: Is it Dangerous?

ByAlex Strauss

A new study finds that chemotherapy during mesothelioma surgery does not raise the risk for complications. That could be good news for pleural mesothelioma patients who want to keep cancer at bay as long as possible. A group of Indian doctors compared the cases of thoracic cancer patients who had surgery with or without intraoperative chemotherapy. Only one of the “surgery + chemotherapy” patients developed a serious complication. Patients in this group also lived longer than those who did not receive intraoperative chemotherapy. When Do Doctors Use Chemotherapy During Mesothelioma Surgery? The two primary types of mesothelioma surgery are extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) or lung-sparing pleurectomy/decortication (P/D). Patients often have chemotherapy prior to surgery to shrink their mesothelioma tumor. Many have…