Saturday, April 3, 2010

An overview of mesothelioma treatment options

Mesothelioma treatment options depend on many internal factors such as: stage, location and age of the patient and desires. Important external factors include the experience level of the oncologist with mesothelioma cases, and whether a palliative care rural residents would have to be transferred, a larger city for treatment or aggressive.

Patient survival is determined up to a year, while some of the leading cancerCenters have reported that life expectancy after diagnosis, as much as five more years.

Shielding

Imaging tests allow doctors to see a picture of the cancer site. These tests could x-rays, CT (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

New screening instrument: the test Mesomark

The Food and Drug Administration has just approved (January 2007), the world's first in-vitro test for mesothelioma. TheMesomark assay test developed by Fujirebio Diagnostics is administered test to the blood of patients diagnosed with biphasic or epithelioid mesothelioma by a simple. The test measures proteins in the blood that reflect changes in the patient tumor volume, a key factor for monitoring patient status and response to therapy.

Traditional treatments

Surgery, the removal of the whole lung and part of the breast fed, the diaphragmand part of the pericardium.

Thoracoscopy is the insertion of an endoscope, the tube is a small, narrow, with a tiny Cameria in the pleural cavity, directly into the tumor. Pathologist to perform a biopsy to collect a tissue. Often, chemical pleurodesis (draining fluid in the intrapleural space), can be performed during the same procedure.

Mediastinoscopy, a different type of surgical procedure is sometimes used to stageExtent of disease when enlarged nodes are seen using imaging techniques.

Laproscopy patients is used when mesothelioma imaging techniques show that the tumor has penetrated through the membrane. This information is important in assessing a patient for potential pleurectomy or extrapleural pneumonectomy.

Radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells.

Radiation -Although mesothelioma tumors are highly resistant to radiation therapy, these treatments are sometimes used to relieve the symptoms of tumor vessel growth, such as blockage of a major blood.

Radiation therapy is often applied to the insertion of chest tube sites, on the wall to prevent the growth of the tumor along the track in the chest.

Chemotherapy - is used to stop the growth of cancer cells anddivided.

Immunotherapy: Heated intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy requires removing as much tumor tissue as possible between the direct administration of a heated follow (40 and 48 ° C) chemotherapy in the abdomen for 60 to 120 minutes and then drained.

Palliative procedures

Pleuroperitoneal Shun t is a procedure where a catheter placed under the skin pleura from the peritoneal dialysisCavity. This process is raising concerns, as the catheter can damage cause by embedding itself in the stomach.

Pleurectomy, a palliative procedure may be performed if option is more extensive operation is not. The process is not effectively remove all the tumors. It is the most effective means to control the pleural effusion (fluid buildup), where the expansion of the lung is restricted by mesothelioma in as.

Potentially curativeProcedures

These procedures are performed with "curative intent.

Pleurectomy / peeling is usually on stage pleural mesothelioma patients with early disease (stage I and selected Stage II), and attempts to remove all gross tumor in the.

Extrapleural pneumonectomy is a surgical lung cancer diagnosed with removing part of the pericardium, diaphragm and part of the parietal pleura. This type of surgery is often usedfor the treatment of malignant mesothelioma and is combined with traditional chemotherapy or radiation, gene therapy, immunotherapy or photodynamic treatment.

Cytoreductive surgery removes the visible tumor in the abdominal cavity. The remaining cancer cells are heated by Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal () Chemotherapy (IPHC treatment) and then delivered into the abdominal cavity.

New or experimental therapies

Gene therapy: The bestknown tumor suppressor gene called p53. When this gene is damaged or non-existent oncogenes or cancer genes multiply at an abnormal rate. The focus of gene therapy for mesothelioma is injecting a virus that has changed in the laboratory. The virus is injected cells in the pleural space in the chest, where developed mesothelioma as an attempt to kill cancer.

Drug Therapy and Vaccine

Patients with mesothelioma muchhigher levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a chemical control of blood vessels than people with a different type of cancer. Studies be conducted to determine whether VEGF can be blocked to stop the growth of blood vessels feeding the tumors mesothelioma.

Bevacizumab is a drug, vaccine currently in use. A study recently reported that this drug may increase the survival time of patients with lung cancer. American study of Phase 2 examined a bevacizumab mesotheliomain combination with chemotherapeutic agents. Bevacizumab is still in the experimental stage and much larger studies are needed before we know how effective it is in the treatment of cancer, mesothelioma and other types of.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT)

In photodynamic therapy, a drug called a photosensitizing agent is injected into the bloodstream and absorbed by the cells of the body making the cells sensitive to light. If the treatment area is exposedLaser light killed the cells. PDT must be operated in combination to treat patients with mesothelioma in the early stages of. PDT is still in testing stage and very experimental.

Clinical studies and eligibility

Clinical trials shall be provided, research involved using a sample of people with cancer. The National Cancer Institute finds that the purpose of most clinical trials listed on new cancer treatments or new methods of diagnosis, screening test isto prevent or cancer.

Requirements for clinical trials are not the same, and each study has specific guidelines for participation. Some studies allow participation after other treatments have failed, while others require that the patient is not the treatment over. Choosing a clinical trial should be made only after a medical consultation.

Prevention studies - Study ways to reduce the risk of accident or falling ill with cancer. Most studies preventionoccur in healthy people who do not have cancer, had carried out. These experiments drugs, vitamins or diet to reduce cancer risk. Some studies have had with people who have cancer and want to prevent the return of cancer (recurrence), or reduce the likelihood of developing a new type of cancer carried out.

Screening studies - Study ways to detect cancer. They are often carried out to determine whether or not to find cancer before it causes symptoms of dying the opportunity to reduce theDisease. These studies apply to persons with no symptoms of cancer.

Diagnostic Cancer Trials - developing new tests or scans

Treatment trials - studies of new drugs or combinations of drugs, new ways of administering the treatment, and new types of treatment

Quality of life studies to explore ways to improve the comfort to survivors and the quality of life of cancer patients and cancer. These tests can determine which optionsHelp people experiencing the nausea, vomiting, insomnia, depression or other effects of cancer or its treatment.

Genetics Study Trials - are sometimes part of another cancer study. The genetics component of the trial that treatment can focus, such as make-up of cancer can affect genetic diagnosis, or response.

Clinical trials are conducted in 4 phases:

Phase 1 trials consider whether aTrial drug is safe, or has no harmful effects and attempts will require the correct dosage.

Phase 2 studies for the effectiveness of treatment.

Phase 3 trials test a new treatment against the existing standard therapy. If it delivers better results, it can be treated, the new standard.

Phase 4 studies are conducted after a drug has been licensed. Youcollect information about side effects, safety and long-term benefits and risks of a drug.

Ongoing research attempts, treatment options to improve in mesothelioma, but clinical trials are not all with new and better treatment. After the test, it can treatments found to be that the nature of the treatment tested is not working, or that it is worse side effects than existing ones. But the researchers and physicians, and at the end for the patients it is crucialKeep going this research.

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