Mesothelioma Treatment

When seeking treatment for mesothelioma or asbestos related lung cancer time is a significant factor. The progression of the disease influences the survival rate of patients in addition to the kinds of treatment options available.

Traditional treatment options for mesothelioma include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, or a combination of two or more of these. Advances have been made in diagnostic procedures, mesothelioma treatments, and procedures for palliative care or pain and symptom management that show great promise.

Mesothelioma diagnostic procedures may include imaging tests such as MRI or PET scans and subsequent testing for pleural effusion or the excess fluid that may accumulate in the space surrounding the lungs in patients with pleural mesothelioma or the abdomen in suspected peritoneal mesothelioma. However, subsequent testing is also often needed to make a definitive diagnosis of the disease. Diagnostic surgery is typically the next step, and may include thoracoscopy, mediastinoscopy, or laproscopy.

Depending on the stage of mesothelioma progression, palliative procedures or procedures with the potential to cure the disease may be recommended. Palliative care or surgical procedures are administered to treat the symptoms of mesothelioma, which is sometimes the only viable option for patients with advanced stages of mesothelioma. These include pleurodesis or drainage of fluid build up between the lungs and chest cavity, and the administration of a pleurectomy to remove tumors for the control of pleural effusion.

Although there is no established cure for mesothelioma, certain procedures show great potential for eradicating the disease. In addition to radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy, these may include Cytoreductive surgery, and Pleurectomy/Decortication for the removal of tumors.

Mesothelioma clinical trials are frequently conducted by cancer centers across the U.S., and other parts of the world in an effort to find new methods of fighting mesothelioma. Patients may speak with their doctors about participation in these kinds of studies and also obtain information from credible resources such the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, and Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups.