There are mesothelioma treatment centres in every state, though that is not to say they are standalone clinics. Because asbestos exposure was so widespread in the early to mid 20th century, cases of mesothelioma have been reported in every part of the U.S. As a result, many states have specialized cancer centers where the medical teams are focused on mesothelioma treatment options.
The incidence of mesothelioma cancer is expected to rise before it drops due to the very long lag time between asbestos exposure and development of mesothelioma. It can take decades for mesothelioma to be diagnosed after asbestos exposure. One reason is the way the asbestos particles take years to break down into the tiny pieces that invade the mesothelium and begin the biological process that causes the development of mesothelioma. Another reason is that mesothelioma rarely produces any symptoms until it is fairly advanced, and late diagnosis is a leading reason for low mesothelioma survival rates.
Mesothelioma treatment options vary from case to case. Options include traditional lung cancer treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Alternative treatments figure into many patients’ treatment plans depending on how open the patient and physician are to non-traditional treatments. And there are always new treatment options coming on line in fighting mesothelioma. Some of the most promising treatments for mesothelioma include are immune system therapies, where the patient’s own immune system is made to fight off the cancer.
There is no one standard treatment for mesothelioma currently. The disease is still rare enough that a substantial body of knowledge of treatment effectiveness is still being created. And treatments vary based on the patient’s age, whether he or she has lung mesothelioma, pericardial mesothelioma, or peritoneal mesothelioma. Treatments depend on how far advanced the disease is at diagnosis. The more the mesothelioma has spread, the more aggressive the treatment must be.
The major classes of treatments for mesothelioma are chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, biological therapy, and palliative therapy. Various types of treatments from these classes may be combined to give the patient the best chance at recovery.
Chemotherapy is drug therapy, and it’s used in treatment of many types of cancer. Mesothelioma chemotherapy regimens may be given as pills or intravenously. In chemotherapy treatment, the drugs are given according to a written plan with details of dosage, timing, and duration of the procedure. Once the patient receives chemotherapy, both normal cells and cancerous cells are susceptible to the drugs’ effects, and the result is sometimes severe side effects. Mesothelioma chemotherapy is usually given until the patient goes into remission, which is a state where there is no sign of the disease. Chemotherapy as a mesothelioma treatment results in the typical chemotherapy side effects of nausea, vomiting, weight loss, hair loss, and overall tiredness.
Radiation is another form of mesothelioma treatment in which the disease is targeted with either external high energy x-rays or gamma rays, or with internal implants of radioactive substances. The radiation destroys tissue and stops malignant cells from growing and reproducing. While chemotherapy is a whole-body mesothelioma treatment, radiation therapy is targeted. Because of this, surrounding, healthy tissue is not affected by the radiation therapy. Even so, high doses of radiation can cause side effects such as profound fatigue.
Surgery is one of the mesothelioma treatment options that may not be practical in some cases. The surgery used to treat pleural mesothelioma is called pheumonectomy, which is the surgical removal of the diseased lung and affected parts of the diaphragm. This particular treatment for mesothelioma is fairly risky, and not all mesothelioma patients are candidates for it.
Biological mesothelioma treatment is one of the newer approaches to cancer treatment. Biological therapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight off tumor cells. Numerous clinical trials are underway to determine how the immune system can be enhanced and manipulated to destroy cancer cells. Biological response modifiers are substances made by normal cells that block tumor growth or stimulate the immune system. One example of this type of mesothelioma treatment is interferon, which is an important substance in the body’s immune response. Monoclonal antibodies, interleukins, and colony-stimulating factors are other substances important in biological mesothelioma treatments.
Mesothelioma treatment centres also provide palliative therapy, which is not curative treatment. Palliative therapy, rather, relieves symptoms of mesothelioma. It may involve draining and suctioning excess fluid from the affected part of the body and drugs that will prevent more accumulation of fluids from forming. Palliative mesothelioma treatment often includes pain management medications for those patients in more advanced stages of mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma treatment centres are staffed by doctors, nurses, pathologists, and other medical specialists who have the experience necessary to treat mesothelioma, learn about the newest treatment techniques, and specifically target the type of mesothelioma the patient has, whether it’s peritoneal mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma, or another form of the disease. The patient’s comfort as well as the best treatments are top priorities at mesothelioma treatment centers, and many such centers are involved in research aimed at improving treatments and increasing the mesothelioma survival rate.
Clinical trials are often carried out at mesothelioma treatment centres. These are research projects designed to measure how effective new drugs and other treatments are in improving mesothelioma survival rates, prolonging the lives of mesothelioma patients, and increasing mesothelioma patients’ quality of life.
Mesothelioma prognosis often sounds very grim, because often by the time a patient is diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, their expected survival is around eight to 12 months. But the good news is that specialists who treat malignant mesothelioma at the top cancer centers and mesothelioma treatment centres often have much better statistics to offer patients. And with mesothelioma cancer, as with other types of cancer, there are people who, for whatever reason, defy the statistics and go on to have long, productive, and happy lives after being diagnosed with mesothelioma and undergoing mesothelioma treatment.
One very encouraging statistic is that at the mesothelioma treatment center at Brigham and Women’s Center in Boston, Mass. under the direction of Dr. David Sugarbaker has a five-year survival rate of 40%, which is much better than mesothelioma survival rates used to be. Because there are so many cancer centers conducting so many clinical trials, finding a clinical trial to participate in if you have mesothelioma is a very real possibility for many patients.
There are clinical trials for people who have just been diagnosed and who have not received any mesothelioma treatment, and there are clinical trials for those who have been unsuccessfully treated with traditional therapies. Mesothelioma treatment centres stay current on the state of the science in mesothelioma treatment, including where clinical trials are being conducted that may be of benefit to their mesothelioma patients.
A mesothelioma treatment regimen called the Columbia Protocol is designed to allow pleural mesothelioma patients to avoid total removal of a lung by use of radioactive and chemical substances that are injected directly into the pleural space, but not the underlying lung tissue. The 13 week treatment involves thoracoscopic exploratory surgery in, through which the tubes for the drugs and radioactive substances will be delivered. Nine weeks of chemotherapy follow, followed by a single radiotherapy treatment. The Columbia Protocol looks to be a promising new treatment approach to mesothelioma.
The Mesomark Blood Test, used in some mesothelioma treatment centres, is a relatively new way to monitor response to mesothelioma treatments for those with epithelial and bi-phasic mesothelioma. A protein called Soluble Mesothelin-Related Peptide (SMRP) is sometimes released into the blood stream by mesothelioma cancer cells. Doctors can measure the amount of this substance in a patient’s blood to better monitor the patient’s progress with various treatments. Though Mesomark is not approved for use in early diagnosis of mesothelioma, it does keep those who have been treated for the disease better apprised of their progress.
Thoracoscopy is a form of surgical diagnosis that allows surgeons to evaluate the pleural (chest) cavity and make several tissue biopsies. A definitive diagnosis can be obtained in 98% of cases. Additionally procedures to relieve the accumulation of fluid in the spaces between the pleura can be done at the same time, providing not only the high probability of a diagnosis, but some relief of patient discomfort.
Video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is another diagnostic option, but it is more invasive than thoracoscopy. With VATS, surgeons can look at the pleural space via camera and at the same time obtain several tissue samples for pathological analysis. In some cases, the extent of the tumor can be determined, and physicians can get an idea of the best way to debulk tumors.
Mediastinoscopy is a technique for determining the stage of the mesothelioma cancer when enlarged lymph nodes are discovered, and laproscopy is used to determine whether a tumor has penetrated through the patient’s diaphragm, which is useful to know when a patient is being evaluated for the possibility of removal of the affected lung.
Mesothelioma treatment centers also use procedures like simple chest tube drainage as a palliative procedure, as well as insertion of pleuroperitoneal shunts for drainage. Lung removal as a palliative procedure may be done when extensive surgery is not practical or possible. During this procedure, not all of the visible tumor is removed, but it is considered a mesothelioma treatment that works best at controlling pleural effusion when the lung’s expansion is restricted.
Many more mesothelioma treatments are used in mesothelioma treatment centres everywhere. Though mesothelioma is a tough type of cancer to cure, there are success stories of people who have lived far beyond their predicted lifespans when they were diagnosed. Mesothelioma treatment centres are emerging so that physicians and researchers can share knowledge and maximize the chances of a mesothelioma patient getting the best treatment that will prolong his or her life the most, without significant loss of quality of life.