Evidence Supports Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma Pain Relief
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Evidence Supports Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma Pain Relief

ByAlex Strauss

European researchers have a bit of good news for patients coping with the pain that often accompanies late stage malignant pleural mesothelioma. They have found evidence that radiotherapy, which is sometimes prescribed to treat this pain, really can make a difference. The authors, including cancer researchers from both Scotland and Norway, note that, although radiation is often used to treat mesothelioma pain, there has been little research to support the practice. As part of a multi-center phase II clinical trial on the use of radiotherapy for mesothelioma pain, patients were assessed for baseline pain and other symptoms and then treated with 20 Gy of radiation in 5 daily fractions. Mesothelioma pain was evaluated at 5 weeks and again at 12 weeks…

New CT Method May Enable Safer, Earlier Mesothelioma Detection
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New CT Method May Enable Safer, Earlier Mesothelioma Detection

ByAlex Strauss

A new way of using a CT scanner may make it possible to detect the signs of mesothelioma earlier in asbestos workers without exposing them to dangerously high levels of radiation. As with most types of cancer, mesothelioma treatment outcomes are closely linked to early detection. Because people with mesothelioma often have no symptoms until decades after their asbestos exposure, some studies have suggested that CT scans of asbestos-exposed workers may offer a way to catch the disease earlier. But the radiation used in CT scanning carries its own cancer risks. Now, new research suggests that a technology developed by GE Healthcare may offer a safer way to monitor these workers for signs of mesothelioma. Radiologists and occupational medical experts…

High Dose Radiation: Viable for Mesothelioma?
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High Dose Radiation: Viable for Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

Radiation therapy may be a better option for mesothelioma than it used to be – especially when it is delivered using advanced targeting technology. That is the message presented recently to thousands of the world’s lung cancer specialists at the European Lung Cancer Conference by a team of Australian researchers. Observing that many mesothelioma patients are not candidates for surgery and chemotherapy provides poor local control with serious toxicities, Dr. Malcolm Fiegen and his team analyzed the effectiveness of high dose radiation treatments for mesothelioma patients from 2003 to 2011. In the past, high-dose radiation has often been dismissed as a viable treatment option for mesothelioma because the irregular shape of mesothelioma tumors made it difficult to avoid toxic overdoses to healthy…

Mesothelioma Radiation ‘Boost’: A Surgical Alternative?
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Mesothelioma Radiation ‘Boost’: A Surgical Alternative?

ByAlex Strauss

For mesothelioma patients who are not candidates for surgery, new research suggests that an escalated dose of radiotherapy in the right place may help slow the cancer’s progression. Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining around the lungs and other organs, is hard to treat with traditional therapies in part because of its atypical configuration. The cancer tends to spread across the thin, membranous tissue of the mesothelium in a ‘sheet’ formation, rather than a solid mass. The odd shape of mesothelioma tumors not only makes them difficult to remove surgically, but can also make them challenging to treat with radiation without harming vital organs beneath such as the lungs. But a group of radiology researchers in Milan, Italy found that,…

VATS Preventive Radiation Not Recommended for Mesothelioma
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VATS Preventive Radiation Not Recommended for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma patients who have thoracoscopic surgery should not necessarily have radiation to keep their cancer from spreading at the surgical site. That’s the conclusion of researchers in Oxford, England who recently published an article on the practice of prophylactic irradiation therapy (PIT) for mesothelioma. Malignant pleural mesothelioma, a serious asbestos-linked lung cancer, is notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat. Because blood and imaging tests are often inconclusive, for a definitive diagnosis many patients have to undergo surgery to remove mesothelioma tumor cells for examination under a microscope. With the use of a thoracoscope, a camera for viewing inside the chest cavity, this procedure can often be done through small puncture wounds instead of the large open incision it used to…

Mesothelioma Triple Therapy Found Safe and Effective
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Mesothelioma Triple Therapy Found Safe and Effective

ByAlex Strauss

An aggressive treatment strategy that begins with chemotherapy, followed by surgery, and then radiation is a safe and effective option for many mesothelioma patients, according to a recent study in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Mesothelioma traditionally hasn’t responded well to just one treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation). In the early 1990s, Dr. David Sugarbaker of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston reported on the use of combining therapies. When he treated mesothelioma patients with extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP—surgery to remove the diseased lung, as well as the diaphragm and the membrane covering the heart and lung), followed by chemotherapy and radiation, the results were promising. Researchers at the Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle, Washington, tried to replicate this triple-treatment…

Mesothelioma Treatment Research
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Mesothelioma Treatment Research

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma treatment today is basically made up three options: surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation. More targeted therapies that address the biological factors triggering mesothelioma growth might be a much more precise and effective way to combat this difficult-to-treat cancer, according to a recent article in Connective Tissue Research. Mesothelioma is so challenging to treat because it is often diagnosed at a late stage, and because it can take many biological forms. Current mesothelioma treatments were originally designed for other types of cancers, without considering factors that may be specific to mesothelioma. That may be why many patients only partially respond to treatment, and the average survival is just 12 months after diagnosis. The key to prolonging the lives of mesothelioma patients…