NEW MESOTHELIOMA TREATMENTS

Clinical trials explore the latest options in new mesothelioma treatments, giving patients hope in their battle against this lethal cancer caused by worksite asbestos exposure

October 29, 2010 – Patients diagnosed with asbestos-related mesothelioma have several mesothelioma treatment options, depending on what stage the cancer is discovered in. The most common treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Though not new treatments, doctors employ them most frequently.

Mesothelioma doctors sometimes combine these traditional treatments with new experimental treatments – such as immunotherapy, photodynamic therapy and gene therapy – an approach known as "multimodality therapy."

These new mesothelioma treatments are being pioneered in mesothelioma clinical trials, where eligible patients can gain access to the very latest in medical treatment options.

• Immunotherapy uses a patient’s own immune system to attack cancer cells, and involves stimulation of the immune system with vaccines or biological agents like white blood cells;
• Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment based on light. It could be an important new treatment option for mesothelioma patients following surgery;
• Gene therapy calls for the introduction of genes into the body through the form of a virus that has been genetically altered with a copy of a normal gene. Once the virus enters targeted cells, the cells begin to produce normal proteins instead of defective ones. (Gene therapy is only available to patients who qualify for clinical trials because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved gene therapy for public use.)

Some of these new mesothelioma treatments are being combined with each other rather than only with the traditional treatments. Patients wishing to learn more can browse ClinicalTrials.gov for information on past and current trials exploring new and effective mesothelioma treatments for the nearly 3,000 patients that are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the United States.

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