Systemic Chemotherapy Ineffective in Peritoneal Mesothelioma?
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Systemic Chemotherapy Ineffective in Peritoneal Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare cancer that occurs in the membranous lining of the abdomen. This virulent cancer is caused by exposure to asbestos. Because it is so aggressive, most patients with peritoneal mesothelioma are treated with multiple modalities, or a variety of different treatments, in an effort to attack the cancer from all sides. For patients whose mesothelioma is considered operable, surgery is frequently preceded by a round of preoperative chemotherapy. Also referred to as neoadjuvant chemotherapy, preoperative chemotherapy aims to shrink the tumor as much as possible before cytoreductive surgery. Later, during surgery, the same peritoneal mesothelioma patient may have intraoperative chemotherapy (HIPEC) in which chemotherapy drugs are washed through the body cavity where the cancer was found. The procedure…

New ‘Calculator’ May Help Guide Mesothelioma Treatment
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New ‘Calculator’ May Help Guide Mesothelioma Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

An NIH study claims to have found a better way to predict treatment response and survival in peritoneal mesothelioma patients. The information could be used to individualize treatment planning and determine which patients are most likely to benefit from aggressive therapies. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that arises in the thin membrane that lines the walls of the abdomen. Like all forms of mesothelioma, it is highly aggressive, spreading across the membrane quickly and metastasizing to other parts of the body. It is usually caused by exposure to asbestos sometime in the patient’s past. Treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma usually consists of surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible (cytoreductive surgery) followed by a wash of heated…

Mesothelioma Study: QOL Impact Not Enough to Deny Surgery
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Mesothelioma Study: QOL Impact Not Enough to Deny Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

The risk of reduced quality of life should not be used as an argument against a new surgical technique for peritoneal mesothelioma. That is the conclusion of a team of German doctors studying the combination of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for a variety of abdominal cancers. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare form of a rare disease. Arising in the peritoneum, the membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity, it tends to spread quickly. The proximity of the peritoneum to other internal organs increases the chance that mesothelioma will spread. During cytoreductive mesothelioma surgery, surgeons remove as much of the diseased tissue as possible. In a growing number of centers, the procedure is followed by…

Study Supports CRS/HIPEC for Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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Study Supports CRS/HIPEC for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Another study supports the safety of a new treatment approach for peritoneal mesothelioma that combines cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC). The study finds the procedure safe, even when it is performed by surgeons who are new to the technique. HIPEC is a secondary treatment for mesothelioma and other cancers used in combination with open surgery. It involves bathing the open body cavity with a mixture of heated chemotherapy medicines. The drugs are designed to attack mesothelioma and other cancer cells left behind after cytoreductive surgery and to prevent new cancer cells from forming. The heat is believed to help the drugs more easily penetrate into tissue. Cancer researchers at the University of Arizona, which has recently begun using CRS/HIPEC,…

Second Treatment Effective for Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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Second Treatment Effective for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

There is some good news from the Wake Forest School of Medicine for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. In many cases, after a mesothelioma patient has been treated with one therapy, that therapy is not used again.  This means that when a treatment fails, many mesothelioma patients often run out of treatment options. But researchers at Wake Forest have confirmed that, for patients whose peritoneal mesothelioma recurs after surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), a second treatment may be just as effective at prolonging survival. Peritoneal mesothelioma occurs in the lining of the abdomen.  It is the result of ingestion or inhalation of asbestos fibers. Cytoreductive (CRS) surgery involved a scraping away of the tumor from the peritoneum. When it is followed …

Both Pleural and Peritoneal Mesothelioma Connected to Asbestos
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Both Pleural and Peritoneal Mesothelioma Connected to Asbestos

ByAlex Strauss

Italy has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world and according to two new studies, mesothelioma rates are a “suitable indicator” of asbestos exposure for both peritoneal and pleural mesothelioma. Asbestos has long been known to be the cause of mesothelioma.  Italian researchers have highlighted this association by analyzing Italian mesothelioma data from 1995-2002.  They discovered that the annual mortality rate was 1.9 per 100,000. Significant mesothelioma clusters were found in the industries often associated with asbestos exposure, including: asbestos-cement industries, shipyards, oil refineries and petrochemical industries.  The authors concluded that their study “confirms malignant pleural neoplasms mortality as a suitable indicator of asbestos exposure at geographic level.” In a related study, Italian researchers examined the relationship between…

Mesothelioma May Masquerade as Ovarian Cancer
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Mesothelioma May Masquerade as Ovarian Cancer

ByAlex Strauss

Some cases of ovarian cancer in women with a history of asbestos exposure may actually be misdiagnosed peritoneal mesothelioma.  That is the conclusion of scientists from the University of Western Australia who are trying to evaluate a possible link between asbestos and ovarian cancer. Doctors have known of the link between mesothelioma and asbestos for decades.  Over the years, other cancers, including gastrointestinal, kidney, throat and gallbladder, have also been associated with exposure to this toxic mineral.  But, because fewer women traditionally work in industrial jobs and, thus, have less occupational asbestos exposure, the link with ovarian cancer has been harder to prove. Adding to the challenge is the possibility that some cases of peritoneal mesothelioma may have been misdiagnosed as…