Mesothelioma Surgery May Have Added Benefit
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Mesothelioma Surgery May Have Added Benefit

ByAlex Strauss

Cancer researchers at Wake Forest University have found another benefit to the cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) combination used to treat peritoneal mesothelioma and other abdominal cancers: the control of fluid buildup. Fluid accumulation in the abdomen because of peritoneal mesothelioma or another type of cancer is known as ascites. Left untreated, ascites can cause bloating, discomfort, disfiguration, and shortness of breath when it interferes with the movement of the diaphragm. While patients with peritoneal mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the peritoneal surface, can have this fluid drained off, it often reaccumulates. But the new Wake Forest research suggests that CRS/HIPEC may offer a more permanent solution. Fifteen percent of the cancer patients in the study had…

P/D for Mesothelioma: Are the Studies Accurate?
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P/D for Mesothelioma: Are the Studies Accurate?

ByAlex Strauss

A new analysis of pleurectomy/decortication suggests that the most radical form of the surgery produces the best results for mesothelioma patients, but also carries the greatest risk. Pleurectomy/decortication or P/D involves the removal of the pleural lining where malignant mesothelioma grows. Removing all or part of the lining frees up the lungs to expand again, relieving life-limited mesothelioma symptoms such as shortness of breath. But, as the Australian researchers found in their mesothelioma analysis, the varying degrees of P/D can make it difficult to accurately compare the method to the more extensive lung-removing surgery or even to get an accurate picture of P/D outcomes. Extended or ‘radical’ P/D involves removing the entire pleural lining, while partial P/D involves removing only part…

Mesothelioma Study Cites Risks & Benefits of Second Surgery
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Mesothelioma Study Cites Risks & Benefits of Second Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

Peritoneal mesothelioma patients who have cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and heated chemotherapy can sometimes benefit from a second surgery, but it may be harder the second time around. Researchers in France have recently published their findings in a study of patients with mesothelioma and other peritoneal cancers who experienced recurrence after  cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Peritoneal mesothelioma is an asbestos-related malignancy that spreads across the peritoneum, the membrane that lines the abdomen. For patients who are healthy enough to undergo it, cytoreductive surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible, followed by a solution of heated chemotherapy drugs, has been shown to improve survival. But the French team wanted to examine the possible options for people…

Mesothelioma Report Suggests Clinical Trials Better Than Surgery
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Mesothelioma Report Suggests Clinical Trials Better Than Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

Doctors in the Department of Respiratory medicine at York Teaching Hospital in the UK are taking a hard stance against the surgical treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. In a recent article in the journal Thorax, the group contends that the research surrounding mesothelioma surgery is largely flawed and that the majority of mesothelioma patients would be better served if their doctors suggested alternatives. “Belief that the modest survival times reported after radical surgery, whether alone or as part of multimodal therapy, are longer than they would have been without surgery relies on data from highly selected, uncontrolled, retrospectively analyzed case series,” they write. They point out that the only randomized study, the Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery (MARS) trial showed no measurable…

Can Robotics Make Mesothelioma Surgery Safer?
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Can Robotics Make Mesothelioma Surgery Safer?

ByAlex Strauss

A Chandler, Arizona man is recovering after becoming the second person in the world to undergo robotic surgery for mesothelioma. Carlos Tarazon, a 67-year-old former construction worker, was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma after spending more than 20 years in the construction industry. He had exhausted his treatment options when he was referred to University of Arizona Medical Center thoracic surgeon Farid Gharagozloo, MD, who elected to perform robotic-assisted extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). Gharagozloo had performed the world’s first robotic EPP just days before. Pleural mesothelioma invades organ membranes, the chest well, and, often, the lungs. EPP involves removing not only the diseased lung lining, but also the lung itself, portions of the chest wall, the membrane around the heart, and all…

Studies Confirm Success Factors for Mesothelioma Surgery
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Studies Confirm Success Factors for Mesothelioma Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

Completeness of surgery, tumor grade, and the use of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin all have an impact on survival after peritoneal mesothelioma surgery and heated intraoperative chemotherapy, according to recent studies. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer of the abdominal wall. This type of mesothelioma is often treated by surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible (Cytoreductive surgery or CRS) followed by a wash of heated chemotherapy drugs through the open body cavity (HIPEC). Two recent studies – one conducted in the U.S. and one in Singapore – have independently confirmed a list of factors that contribute to survival after CRS and HIPEC for peritoneal mesothelioma. The first study included 211 peritoneal mesothelioma patients treated with CRS and HIPEC at…

Better Quality of Life from Lung-Sparing Mesothelioma Surgery
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Better Quality of Life from Lung-Sparing Mesothelioma Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma patients who undergo pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) may enjoy a better quality of life afterward than those who have extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). That is the message of a new study published in the Asian Cardiovascular and Thoracic Annals. Pleural mesothelioma arises most often in the thin lining that surrounds the lungs. Because of its close proximity to the lungs, it is not uncommon for pleural mesothelioma to eventually spread to the lung itself, reducing its function. Eventually, the diseased mesothelium also thickens and stiffens, preventing the lungs from expanding adequately with each breath. Pleurectomy/decortication and extrapleural pneumonectomy are the two major types of surgical treatments for mesothelioma. There is great disagreement within the medical community as to which one is better for…

Neoadjuvant Chemo Combo May Improve Mesothelioma Survival
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Neoadjuvant Chemo Combo May Improve Mesothelioma Survival

ByAlex Strauss

For treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma prior to surgery, one chemotherapy combination may be better than another.  That is the central message of a recent Italian study published in Anticancer Research. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. It affects the membranes around organs and is often incurable. According to some studies, patients who have the best odds of survival are those who undergo multimodal therapy, including some combination of chemotherapy, surgery and/or radiotherapy. The folate antimetabolite pemetrexed (Alimta) was the first chemotherapy drug specifically approved for the treatment of mesothelioma. It can be used prior to surgery (neoadjuvant) as a way to shrink a tumor and make it more operable, or after surgery (adjuvant) as a way…

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…

Implants May Help Mesothelioma Surgery Patients
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Implants May Help Mesothelioma Surgery Patients

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma patients who undergo surgery for their cancer may benefit from new biological implants to reconstruct their chest wall. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining that surrounds the lungs and lines the thoracic (chest) cavity. Pleurectomy and decortication is a surgical procedure designed to improve mesothelioma symptoms like shortness of breath by removing cancerous tissues surrounding the lungs, freeing the lungs up to expand more normally. During Pleurectomy and decortication, portions of the chest wall are removed and usually must be rebuilt. Often, this rebuilding is performed using synthetic materials. But a team of thoracic surgeons in the UK has just published a report on their success in using biological implants to rebuild the chest wall in patients…