How can we treat Mesothelioma?

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they
inhaled asbestos particles. However, they may have been been exposed
to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways. This could include working
with asbestos or by home renovation using asbestos cement products or
even by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with
asbestos. The resulting disease is rare form of cancer in which
malignant (cancerous) cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective
sac that covers most of the body's internal organs.

Mesothelioma occurs more often in men than in women and risk increases
with age, but this disease can appear in either men or women at any
age. About 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United
States each year. Although reported incidence rates have increased in
the past 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer.

There are various procedures used for the treatment of mesothelioma.
The type of treatment depends on the location of the cancer, the stage
of the disease, and the patient's age and general health.

A common treatment of the disease is by means of surgery by the
removal of part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the
tissue around it. For cancer of the pleura, a lung may be removed in
an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the diaphragm,
the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.

Another method is Radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy. This
involves the use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink
tumors. Radiation therapy affects the cancer cells only in the treated
area. The radiation may come from a machine or from putting materials
that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes into the area where
the cancer cells are found.

Anticancer drugs can be used to kill cancer cells throughout the body.
This is known as chemotherapy and involves the administration of the
drugs by injection into a vein (intravenous, or IV). Currently,
doctors are also studying the effectiveness of putting chemotherapy
directly into the chest or abdomen.

Because mesothelioma is very hard to control, the U.S. National Cancer
Institute (NCI) is sponsoring clinical trials that are designed to
find new treatments and better ways to use current treatments.