Extended Survival of Peritoneal Mesothelioma with Repeat Treatment
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Extended Survival of Peritoneal Mesothelioma with Repeat Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

There is some good news on the research front for patients with recurrent peritoneal mesothelioma. Doctors at the University of New South Wales in Australia say that treating these patients again with surgery and heated chemotherapy is extending lives, sometimes for several years. Peritoneal mesothelioma, which accounts for about 20 percent of mesothelioma cases, occurs on the peritoneal membrane that surrounds abdominal organs. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) aims to remove as much of that diseased tissue as possible. It is often followed by heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) to kill any remaining mesothelioma cells and to keep new tumors from starting. The CRS/HIPEC combination has become the gold standard first line treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma. But the authors of a new study…

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival May Depend on Cancer Location

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival May Depend on Cancer Location

ByAlex Strauss

Doctors in Greece believe they have found a more effective way to predict prognosis and perhaps extend the lives of people with peritoneal mesothelioma and other cancers affecting the peritoneum. It is based around a system than maps the location of cancer within the abdomen. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare form of one of the rarest cancers. Caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure, peritoneal mesothelioma starts on the lining that surrounds the abdominal organs. A combination treatment of surgery followed by a wash of heated chemotherapy (HIPEC) through the abdomen is considered the gold standard therapy. Now, surgical oncologist John Spiliotis of the Metaxa Cancer Hospital in Piraeus, Greece along with colleagues in Greece and the US say the location…

Surgical Experience Improves Outcomes in Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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Surgical Experience Improves Outcomes in Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

When it comes to surgical intervention for peritoneal mesothelioma, the most experienced centers tend to have the best outcomes. The latest study to support this idea comes from researchers in the Peritoneal Malignancy Institute in Basingstoke, UK. The authors of the new study on peritoneal malignancies including mesothelioma published their research in the British medical journal Colorectal Disease. They performed a retrospective analysis on a database of 1,200 patients treated for peritoneal cancers since 1994. Most of these patients had a diagnosis of cancer of the appendix, but just over 5 percent had peritoneal mesothelioma. The goal of the study was to determine trends in cancer survival after cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). For peritoneal mesothelioma, the surgery involves…

Refining CRS-HIPEC for Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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Refining CRS-HIPEC for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

  Three new international studies are helping to refine a treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma that involves rinsing the body cavity with heated chemotherapy drugs. The treatment, called heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy or HIPEC, begins with surgery to remove as much of the mesothelioma tumor as possible from the surface of the peritoneal membrane. Chemotherapy drugs are then heated and rinsed through the area while the patient is still in surgery. The goal is to destroy any residual cancer cells and keep mesothelioma from growing back. Although the treatment is still relatively new, it is quickly becoming the standard of care for peritoneal mesothelioma. Now, researchers around the world are working on ways to make HIPEC even more effective. In one new…

Could Your Hairdryer Cause Mesothelioma?
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Could Your Hairdryer Cause Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

A recent issue of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health contains some sobering news for hairstylists. A frightening new report highlights the potential link between the frequent use of hairdryers and a higher risk of deadly malignant mesothelioma. Hairdressers are not typically counted among the occupations at elevated risk for mesothelioma. Construction workers, electricians, plumbers, and others who work with asbestos-containing insulation have the highest incidence of mesothelioma, which is caused by inhaling the tiny fibers. But the same qualities that make asbestos such a good insulator in construction products, also make it ideal as an insulator and heat shield inside hairdryers. Hundreds of models from almost every major manufacturer were once made with asbestos. The asbestos heat shields were…

New Treatments Have Improved Outcomes for Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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New Treatments Have Improved Outcomes for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

The newest studies on peritoneal mesothelioma indicate that the outlook for people with this rare asbestos-linked cancer are better than ever. A recent article in the World Journal of Gastroenterology detailed the progress that has been made – and continues to be made – in the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma in the last decade. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a type of mesothelioma that occurs on the peritoneum, the lining around the abdominal organs. It accounts for less than a third of mesothelioma cases. In the new article, surgeons with Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine and the Massey Cancer Center in Richmond report that the increasing use of cytoreductive surgery combined with a rinse of heated chemotherapy drugs has significantly improved…

Repeat CRS/HIPEC Improves Survival for Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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Repeat CRS/HIPEC Improves Survival for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

One of the country’s top peritoneal mesothelioma surgeons has just published a study that may be good news for patients with this aggressive malignancy. Paul Sugarbaker, MD, and colleagues at the Program in Peritoneal Surface Oncology in Washington, DC studied patients with diffuse peritoneal mesothelioma who had repeated cytoreductive surgery and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Their results indicate that patients with diffuse peritoneal mesothelioma can safely undergo these procedures more than once and may even improve their odds of survival. Cytoreductive surgery refers to a surgery designed to remove as much as possible of a mesothelioma tumor growing on the peritoneal lining that surrounds abdominal organs. Doctors have gotten good results by following the procedure with a wash of heated chemotherapy…

Platinum Drug Beats Antibiotic for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Treatment
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Platinum Drug Beats Antibiotic for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

A team of surgeons in Nebraska have determined what they say is the best chemotherapy drug to pair with surgery in patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare form of the asbestos cancer that affects the lining of the abdomen. A treatment approach that involves removing as much of the cancer as possible with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and then rinsing the abdomen with heated chemotherapy drugs (HIPEC) seems to produce better outcomes than systemic chemotherapy. But there is debate over the best drug to use in CRS/HIPEC treatment. Surgeons at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha conducted a retrospective study of peritoneal mesothelioma patients that spanned from 2003 to 2010. A total of 44 patients were treated with…

Long Term Survival Possible with CRS/HIPEC for Mesothelioma
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Long Term Survival Possible with CRS/HIPEC for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

There’s hopeful news for peritoneal mesothelioma patients facing the prospect of surgery. A new study on the benefits of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) finds that both the process and outcomes have improved over time. Cytoreductive surgery refers to any surgery aimed at removing as much cancerous tissue as possible. With peritoneal cancers such as mesothelioma, the surgeons may follow the procedure with a wash of heated chemotherapy drugs into the open body cavity. The goal of HIPEC is to destroy any remaining mesothelioma cells and to help keep new mesothelioma cells from growing. A study of 1,000 cytoreductive surgery/HIPEC patients, 72 of whom had mesothelioma, found that complications have decreased and survival has increased for all of…

Mesothelioma Treatment May Get a Boost from Pineapple Enzyme
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Mesothelioma Treatment May Get a Boost from Pineapple Enzyme

ByAlex Strauss

There’s new evidence that an enzyme found in pineapples may make peritoneal mesothelioma cells more susceptible to the toxic effects of chemotherapy. Mesothelioma is an aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis, largely due to the fact that standard treatments, including chemotherapy, are not usually very effective. The pineapple-derived enzyme bromelain has been shown in previous studies to have a negative impact on breast and pancreatic cancer cells. Now, Australian researchers have found that it may also be toxic to peritoneal mesothelioma cells, especially when used along with the drug cisplatin. Bromelain works against cancer by breaking down a protein called MUC-1. Found in several different mesothelioma cell lines, MUC-1 helps cancer cells invade, spread and withstand the toxic effects of…