|
|
Mesothelioma Treatment
Treatment of mesothelioma using conventional therapies has not proved
successful and patients have a mediam survival time of 6 - 12 months after
presentation. The clinical behaviour of the malignancy is affected by
several factors including the continuous mesothelial surface of the
pleural cavity which favours local metastasis via exfoliated cells,
invasion to underlying tissue and other organs within the pleural cavity,
and the extremely long latency period between asbestos exposure and
development of the disease.
Surgery, either by itself or used in combination with pre- and
post-operative adjuvant therapies has proved disappointing with a 5 year
survival rate of less than 10%. A pleurectomy/decortication is the most
common surgery, in which the lining of the chest is removed. Less common
is an extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), in which the lung, lining of the
inside of the chest, the hemi-diaphragm and the pericardium are removed.
Although the tumor is highly resistant to radiotherapy, these
regimens are sometimes used to relieve symptoms arising from tumor growth,
such as obstruction of a major blood vessel. Radiotherapy is commonly
applied to the sites of chest drain insertion, in order to prevent growth
of the tumor along the track in the chest wall.
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs for treating cancer. The drugs
can be swallowed in pill form or they can be injected by a needle into a
vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is systemic therapy. This means that the drug
enters the bloodstream and circulates throughout the body (through the
whole system) to reach and destroy the cancer cells.
Heated Intraoperative Intraperitoneal
Chemotherapy A procedure known as heated intraoperative
intraperitoneal chemotherapy was developed by Paul Sugarbaker at the
Washington Cancer Institute. The surgeon removes as much of the tumor as
possible followed by the direct administration of a chemotherapy agent,
heated to between 40 and 48°C, in the abdomen. The fluid is perfused for
60 to 120 minutes and then drained. This technique permits the
administration of high concentrations of selected drugs into the abdominal
and pelvic surfaces. Heating the chemotherapy treatment increases the
penetration of the drugs into tissues. Also, heating itself damages the
malignant cells more than the normal cells
|
Hey Webmasters! Get a free website with holiday themes - Get it NOW!
bravenet.com