| | |

The Link Between Surgery and Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink
The Link Between Surgery and Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma

A study from the Journal of Clinical Oncology has reviewed the link between radiotherapy and surgery. This is exciting new research in mesothelioma treatment. The study was conducted by mesothelioma experts in Australia.

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer that rarely responds to a single cancer therapy. Malignant mesothelioma is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. Usually, that happens in the workplace.

Exciting New Research

There is ongoing research exploring surgical options for mesothelioma. There are two common surgical procedures for mesothelioma: extrapleural pneumonectomy and pleurectomy decortication.

Extrapleural pneumonectomy involves removing the lung affected by mesothelioma. Part of the diaphragm and the linings of the lung and heart are also removed.

Pleurectomy decortication is a two-part surgical procedure to treat mesothelioma. The first stage removes the membrane surrounding the lung. The second stage removes diseased tissue that has grown on or around the lung.

The study authors found that there are conflicting guidelines for these treatments. We need more research to determine the best treatment options for mesothelioma patients.

Developing New Treatment Options

Radiotherapy is usually used to provide relief from mesothelioma symptoms. This study discovered that radiotherapy could play a larger role in multimodal therapy. Multimodal therapy combines surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Sometimes, mesothelioma cannot be removed from a patient. New research suggests that in this case, emerging chemotherapy pathways can improve survival.

A new device called NovoTTF is being developed to slow the spread of mesothelioma. It uses electric fields to disrupt cancer cell division. The patients wears the device on their body and it may cause some skin irritation.

Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment for mesothelioma. Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the immune system itself to fight cancer.

The study concludes that we need more clinical trials to find out how to combine new treatments with surgery and radiotherapy options. The link between surgery and radiotherapy for mesothelioma treatment shows promise.

Source

Leal JL, Hoang W, Xue J, Dunne B, John T, Harden S. What’s Current and What’s New in Mesothelioma? Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2022 Nov;34(11):771-780. doi: 10.1016/j.clon.2022.08.029. Epub 2022 Sep 22. PMID: 36155156.

Similar Posts

Doctors Describe "Concrete Therapeutic Approach" for Mesothelioma
| |

Doctors Describe "Concrete Therapeutic Approach" for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A team of medical researchers in Italy have achieved what they are calling “excellent” tumor control and survival results in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients using a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Caused by exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma typically spreads quickly across the lung-encasing membrane called the pleura. There is no known cure but treatments are improving. In the current prospective study, 20 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients underwent radical pleurectomy/decortication followed by high doses of radiation. After surgeons removed as much of the visible mesothelioma tumor and surrounding tissue as possible, patients received 50Gy of radiation to the effected side of their chest, delivered in 25 fractions. Regions of particular concern for mesothelioma regrowth got an extra radiation “boost” to…

Does Radiotherapy Reduce Mesothelioma Pain?
| |

Does Radiotherapy Reduce Mesothelioma Pain?

ByAlex Strauss

A new study says there is not enough evidence to support the use of radiotherapy for the treatment of pain associated with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland reviewed a range of past studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy by searching databases that date back as far as 1974. To be eligible to be included in their review, the study had to focus on malignant pleural mesothelioma and radiotherapy given “with the intent of improving pain”. The study also had to report doses and fractionation of the radiotherapy and how the pain responded. In all, the researchers found eight studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy that met the criteria. Two of the studies were prospective…

Website Aims to Protect Homeowners from Mesothelioma
|

Website Aims to Protect Homeowners from Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Australia’s Cancer Council is trying to educate home renovators about their risk for mesothelioma with a new e-learning course. Australia has one of the highest per capita rates of mesothelioma in the world, largely because of several asbestos mining operations that were once located there. Although asbestos has been banned from building products in Australia since 1989, asbestos-linked diseases like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis continue to pose a serious health concern. While mesothelioma has traditionally occurred among people exposed to asbestos on the job, Australia is now bracing for another “wave” of mesothelioma victims among homeowners who encounter asbestos while doing their own renovation projects. Cancer Council Australia has launched “kNOw asbestos in your home” in an effort to…

Ape Virus Shrinks Mesothelioma Tumors in Lab
|

Ape Virus Shrinks Mesothelioma Tumors in Lab

ByAlex Strauss

A virus that causes leukemia in gibbon apes may have the power to help fight malignant mesothelioma in people. Gibbon ape leukemia virus (GALV) has been tested for years as a viral vector, a carrier of therapeutic genetic information, in the treatment of various human illnesses, including cancer. A new study in Japan compared GALV with a leukemia virus derived from mice to see which carrier communicated most efficiently with mesothelioma cells. While both types of viruses replicated in most of the mesothelioma cell lines tested, the mouse-derived virus was not effective in a mesothelioma cell line called ACC-MESO-1. In this cell line, only the GALV spread efficiently both in culture and in mice that had been given human mesothelioma…

Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma: Better But Still Limited
| |

Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma: Better But Still Limited

ByAlex Strauss

A form of highly-targeted radiation therapy for mesothelioma is better than it used to be, but is still risky. That is the message of a recent article on intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Author Kenneth E. Rosenzweig, MD, a Radiation Oncologist with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, reviewed recent studies on IMRT and mesothelioma. He concludes that, while the “troubling toxicity” associated with IMRT when it was first introduced has not been entirely eliminated, the fact that clinicians now have more experience with it is making a positive difference for mesothelioma patients. Before targeted therapies like IMRT were available, high-dose radiation was not usually a feasible option for mesothelioma since the irregular shape…

Mesothelioma Nurses Ready for New Cases in Australia
| | |

Mesothelioma Nurses Ready for New Cases in Australia

ByAlex Strauss

Australia is bracing for an expected new wave of mesothelioma cases in the next decade and the Lung Foundation of Australia is taking action now to get ready. The Foundation has paid for ten nurses from around the country to receive specialized training in helping patients and families cope with mesothelioma. The nurses, who have recently completed the training, are now equipped to lead treatment planning for these complex cancer patients and to help other nurses do the same. Pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that occurs in the lining around the lungs. It is caused by exposure to asbestos dust, a toxin that was once alarmingly prevalent in Australia where it was mined and heavily used in construction. Because…