Not all mesothelioma patients are the same and all mesothelioma treatment plans are not as well. Some patients are good candidates for surgery while others may respond better to drug treatment without surgery. Fortunately, there are a number of conventional, alternative, and new treatments as well as clinical trials that may work alone or in combination to help treat mesothelioma.
What are my Treatment Options for Mesothelioma?
Ways of Treating Mesothelioma
Surgical / Chemotherapy Treatments
Doctors perform surgeries to remove mesothelioma tumors from a patient’s body. Patients diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma may be eligible for surgery, which are usually one of two types: extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) or pleurectomy with decortication (P/D). Those diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma might undergo cytoreduction, which doctors often combine with heated chemotherapy in a procedure called cytoreduction with HIPEC. An early diagnosis may be critical for surgery to be effective.
Chemotherapy is used to prevent the spread or growth of the mesothelioma tumors or to reduce the size of the tumors. Chemotherapy used for mesothelioma patients is often given on three week intervals to allow for recovery between treatments.
Palliative
Treatment
A treatment is palliative when a doctor uses it to relieve pain or discomfort caused by symptoms of mesothelioma.
The most common palliative treatments include draining fluid buildup from the chest or abdomen.
For patients with pleural mesothelioma, the procedure is called a thoracentesis.
Patients with peritoneal mesothelioma patients receive a paracentesis.
Multimodal
Therapy
Multimodal therapy is the combination of two or more treatments, usually surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or radiation therapy. Using multiple treatments, doctors can attack mesothelioma cells in more than one way.
For example, using cytoreductive surgery to remove most of the tumors, and using heated chemotherapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells.
A study by researchers at Dana Farber Cancer Center — one of the highest–rated cancer centers in the U.S. — showed that 22 percent of patients lived at least 5 years after having multimodal therapy.
Types of Mesothelioma Treatments
Conventional Mesothelioma Treatments
Chemotherapy
The go-to treatment for any type of cancer, chemotherapy is the traditional way to kill off cancer cells in the body.
Surgery
Patients whose mesothelioma has not spread too far may be eligible for surgical treatment. This is often the best way to remove large portions of cancerous tissue.
Radiation
Radiation is another traditional cancer treatment. Radiation therapy is noninvasive and can be beneficial for all stages and types of mesothelioma.
Immunotherapy
Drugs that activate the immune system to target and kill mesothelioma cells are known as immunotherapy treatments. These types of treatments are becoming more common.
Alternative Mesothelioma Treatments
Gene Therapy
This is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat mesothelioma.
Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic therapy is a two stage treatment that uses light energy combined with drug treatments to treat or destroy mesothelioma cancer cells.
Visual or Guided Imagery
A method of relaxation treatments to calm anxiety and promote physical and emotional healing.
Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy
Intraperitoneal chemotherapy (also called IP chemotherapy) is used to treat peritoneal mesothelioma and allows a very high dose of chemotherapy to be delivered to the tumor and only a very low dose to the rest of the body to help minimize side effects, while aggressively treating the tumor.
Monoclonal Antibody Therapy
Laboratory-produced molecules act as substitute antibodies which can restore, enhance or mimic the immune system’s attack on the mesothelioma cells.