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Treatment for
mesothelioma depends on the location of the cancer, the stage of the disease,
and the patient's age and general health. Standard treatment options include
surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Sometimes, these treatments are
combined.
Surgery
is a common treatment for mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the
lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. For
cancer of the pleura (pleural mesothelioma), a lung may be removed in an
operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the
muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.
Radiation
therapy, also called radiotherapy, involves the use of high-energy
rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy affects the
cancer cells only in the treated area. The radiation may come from a
machine (external radiation) or from putting materials that produce
radiation through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells
are found (internal radiation therapy).
Chemotherapy
is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells throughout the body.
Most drugs used to treat mesothelioma are given by injection into a vein
(intravenous, or IV). Doctors are also studying the effectiveness of
putting chemotherapy directly into the chest or abdomen (intracavitary
chemotherapy).
To relieve symptoms
and control pain, the doctor may use a needle or a thin tube to drain fluid that
has built up in the chest or abdomen. The procedure for removing fluid from the
chest is called thoracentesis. Removal of fluid from the abdomen is called
paracentesis. Drugs may be given through a tube in the chest to prevent more
fluid from accumulating. Radiation therapy and surgery may also be helpful in
relieving symptoms.
Are new
treatments for mesothelioma being studied?
Yes. Because
mesothelioma is very hard to control, the National
Cancer Institute (NCI)
is sponsoring clinical trials (research studies with people) that are designed
to find new treatments and better ways to use current treatments. Before any new
treatment can be recommended for general use, doctors conduct clinical trials to
find out whether the treatment is safe for patients and effective against the
disease. Participation in clinical trials is an important treatment option for
many patients with mesothelioma.
People interested
in taking part in a clinical trial should talk with their doctor. Information
about clinical trials is available from the Cancer
Information Service (CIS)
(see below) at 1–800–4–CANCER. Information specialists at the CIS use PDQ®,
NCI's cancer information database, to identify and provide detailed information
about specific ongoing clinical trials. Patients also have the option of
searching for clinical trials on their own. The clinical trials page on the
NCI's http://www.cancer.gov
Web site, located at http://www.cancer.gov/clinical_trials
on the Internet, provides general information about clinical trials.
People considering
clinical trials may be interested in the NCI booklet Taking Part in Clinical
Trials: What Cancer Patients Need To Know. This booklet describes how
research studies are carried out and explains their possible benefits and risks.
The booklet is available by calling the CIS, or from the NCI Publications
Locator Web site at http://www.cancer.gov/publications
on the Internet.
An estimated 3,000 people each year are found to suffer
mesothelioma, an often late-exhibiting form of cancer that primarily attacks the
lungs. The main cause for the disease is clear - asbestos. Although its use has sharply declined over the years,
asbestos continues to claim lives today for a number of reasons. For one, some
residential and commercial buildings still contain the known toxin. Also, the
cancer caused by asbestos exposure has a latency period that can last up to 50
years - so someone who worked in a building containing the material in 1954, for
example, might only now be showing symptoms of the deadly disease.
And make no mistake, it is deadly. The average survival time
from the date of diagnosis is one year. Symptoms generally begin with constant
chest pain, with victims later experiencing difficulty breathing, weight loss
and fever.
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