What are my Treatment Options for Mesothelioma?

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.

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 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.