Sensitizer Could Improve Radiotherapy for Pleural Mesothelioma
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Sensitizer Could Improve Radiotherapy for Pleural Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A chemical compound that sensitizes cancer cells to radiation could help improve radiotherapy for pleural mesothelioma. Radiotherapy uses ionizing radiation to scramble the DNA of cancer cells. This makes it harder for cells to replicate and form new tumors.  But mesothelioma cells and other hard-to-treat cancers have ways of protecting themselves against radiation-induced DNA damage. The possibility of damaging healthy cells is another limiting factor in radiotherapy for pleural mesothelioma.  Now, a Japanese study of mice shows a new compound called SQAP can enhance the damage to cancer cells from radiation. The researchers are hopeful it could help keep mesothelioma tumors in check. The Challenge of Radiotherapy for Pleural Mesothelioma Malignant pleural mesothelioma is difficult to treat. This aggressive membrane…

New Mesothelioma Trial to Test Tri-Modal Approach
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New Mesothelioma Trial to Test Tri-Modal Approach

ByAlex Strauss

Enrollment is open for a new mesothelioma trial run by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to test a three-prong approach to treatment.  Pleural mesothelioma is a lung-related cancer caused by asbestos. It is notoriously difficult to treat and highly aggressive.  The new mesothelioma trial aims to recruit 150 pleural mesothelioma patients. Patients will receive lung-sparing surgery and chemotherapy. Some will also receive intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).  Researchers will test which group does better – those who only have surgery and chemotherapy or those who also have targeted radiation therapy. They plan to measure not only survival but also complications, quality of life, and how long it takes for the cancer to come back.  Tri-Modal Treatment to Fight Mesothelioma The…

Still No Clear Answer on SMART Protocol for Pleural Mesothelioma
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Still No Clear Answer on SMART Protocol for Pleural Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Another study is out and there is still no clear answer about the value of the SMART protocol for mesothelioma.  SMART stands for surgery for mesothelioma after radiotherapy. After studying nearly a hundred patients, doctors in Toronto say radical surgery after RT can be effective. But they also say it is still very hard to prevent serious complications, even in an experienced center like theirs.  The team at Princess Margaret Cancer Center tested the SMART protocol on previously-untreated pleural mesothelioma patients.  As with previous studies of the SMART protocol for mesothelioma, some of the patients did very well. Many lived longer than they would normally expect to live. But there was also a high incidence of serious surgery-related complications.  The…

Multimodal Mesothelioma Treatment Doubles Survival in Mexican Study
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Multimodal Mesothelioma Treatment Doubles Survival in Mexican Study

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers at Mexico’s National Cancer Institute say multimodal mesothelioma treatment with chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation can slow tumor growth and improve survival. Their new study of patients with advanced pleural mesothelioma produced a median survival of nearly two years. That is almost twice as long as average for pleural mesothelioma.  The researchers say the key is a multimodal mesothelioma treatment approach that attacks tumors from three different angles. Chemotherapy Alone is Rarely Enough Chemotherapy is still the main treatment for most patients with pleural mesothelioma. The FDA approved pemetrexed (Alimta) in 2004. Until the recent approval of a combination of Opdivo and Yervoy, Alimta was the only drug for mesothelioma. It is still the main component in mesothelioma chemotherapy. But…

Radiotherapy Before Mesothelioma Surgery May Not Be Worth the Risk
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Radiotherapy Before Mesothelioma Surgery May Not Be Worth the Risk

ByAlex Strauss

Cancer doctors at Mayo Clinic say they do not plan to start routinely performing radiotherapy before mesothelioma surgery. The idea is based on a radiation protocol called SMART. The team monitored how well the SMART protocol worked among their pleural mesothelioma patients over a one year period.  The Mayo doctors acknowledged that radiotherapy before mesothelioma surgery can sometimes improve outcomes. But too many of their patients developed serious complications. In a recently-published article, the team concludes that SMART may not be worth the risk for most patients.  The SMART Way to Treat Mesothelioma? Pleural mesothelioma grows on the membrane that surrounds the lungs. Mesothelioma tumors lie close to the lungs and heart and may spread to one or both lungs….

Targeted Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma May Extend Survival in the Right Patients
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Targeted Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma May Extend Survival in the Right Patients

ByAlex Strauss

A meta-analysis conducted by some of the country’s top cancer researchers says targeted radiotherapy for mesothelioma can help some people live longer. It is the first such analysis of targeted radiation after lung-sparing mesothelioma surgery. The team focused on intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). IMRT is more precise than earlier forms of radiation treatment.  The new article appears in Practical Radiation Oncology. It is a meta-analysis of ten smaller studies. The researchers conclude that healthier surgery patients could safely consider targeted radiotherapy for mesothelioma. Making Radiotherapy Less Toxic In the past, radiation for mesothelioma has sometimes done more harm than good. Earlier types of radiation treatment were not as precise as IMRT. When radiation spills over into healthy tissue, it…

Study Supports Curative Radiation Therapy for Pleural Mesothelioma
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Study Supports Curative Radiation Therapy for Pleural Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A new study out of Turkey supports the idea of using highly targeted radiation therapy for pleural mesothelioma that can’t be treated surgically. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer that grows on the membrane around the lungs. The membrane is called the pleura. Like all forms of mesothelioma, it carries a grim prognosis. But the Turkish researchers say new radiotherapy techniques offer the promise of better outcomes. They compared two types of radiation therapy for pleural mesothelioma. They found that both could be delivered safely and with limited damage to nearby organs.  Unrectable Pleural Mesothelioma The first-line treatment for pleural mesothelioma is chemotherapy. Ideally, chemotherapy will help to shrink the pleural mesothelioma. Then doctors can remove most of it surgically. They…

IMRT for Mesothelioma: Barriers to Completing Treatment
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IMRT for Mesothelioma: Barriers to Completing Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

MD Anderson researchers say too many patients who might benefit from IMRT for mesothelioma never complete the treatment. The problem could be impacting their survival. Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) is a type of targeted radiation. It is designed to direct as much radiation as possible into the mesothelioma tumor without harming the surrounding tissue.  Patients who have a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and IMRT for mesothelioma have the best odds of survival. But at MD Anderson Cancer Center, only two thirds of eligible patients completed IMRT after mesothelioma surgery. The new study aimed to find out why. Trimodal Therapy and Mesothelioma Survival Malignant mesothelioma rarely responds to a single cancer therapy. Trimodal therapy combines several different treatments to maximize success. …

IMRT for Long-Term Survival After Mesothelioma Surgery
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IMRT for Long-Term Survival After Mesothelioma Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) can safely slow or even stop mesothelioma progression after surgery as long as the dose is just right. A team of Texas radiation oncologists reached that conclusion after studying the treatment results of 18 mesothelioma patients between 2005 and 2014. IMRT is a highly targeted form of high-dose radiation. While it can have a powerfully negative effect on tumor cells, it can also have an equally negative effect on healthy lung tissue. Some patients have even died from pulmonary toxicity caused by IMRT. But in a report published in the journal Oncology, doctors from Texas A & M Medical Sciences Center and Baylor Scott and White Hospital found that, as long as the radiation dose…

Mesothelioma Outcomes May Be Improved by New Radiation Therapy
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Mesothelioma Outcomes May Be Improved by New Radiation Therapy

ByAlex Strauss

There is evidence that a new type of radiation therapy may have advantages over other methods for treating mesothelioma patients after surgery. A marriage of spiral CT-scanning technology and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), helical tomotherapy offers enhanced precision and the ability to ‘sculpt’ the radiation dose to conform to the size and shape of the tumor being treated. Because mesothelioma tumors tend to be irregular in shape and spread out across the membranous mesothelial tissue, this sculpting ability may help doctors deliver just enough post-surgical radiation to kill remaining cancer cells without damaging large numbers of healthy cells. In a recent study on the technology at the University of Paris, a group of French researchers analyzed the treatment outcomes…