thoracoscopic

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…