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Surgery, Radiation and Trimodal Mesothlelioma Therapy
Radiation mesothelioma therapy uses radiation energy to kill the cancer cells. However, similar to chemotherapy, the radiation not only attacks cancer cells, it also damages other good cells in the body as well. Radiation therapy has not been effective in enhancing the survival rate of this disease, but it has caused the disease to shrink.
Surgical Treatment
Surgical treatments for malignant mesothelioma are relied upon since the disease is highly resistant to chemotherapy and radiation therapy alone. Surgery requires the removal of part of the lungs or other cancerous organs where tumors are growing.
There are two types of surgical procedures:
- Removal of pleura tissue and reconstruction of the lungs - this procedure provides limited control over the tumor because much of the pleura tissue is left. The tumor is free to start growing in the pleura again immediately after surgery. For patients who have lost much of their breathing capability, this procedure is preferred because less of the lung tissue is removed.
- The more extensive procedure removes almost all of the pleura tissue and tissue from surrounding organs and membranes. This procedure generally stops the local growth of the tumors, but requires the removal of large areas of lung and other tissue.
All in all, surgical treatment has been met with limited success. With only surgery, the recurrence rate is high and most patients die within a few months.
Trimodality Therapy
Trimodality therapy includes a combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgical treatment for mesothelioma. For the trimodality therapy, the longevity of survival after initiation of therapy is 22 months for Stage One, 17 months for Stage Two and 11 months for Stage Three. For all treatment types, it is important that the patient begin physical activity as soon as possible after treatment.
Get more information on the three types of mesothelioma - pleural, pericardial and peritoneal mesothelioma - and types of mesothelioma cancer cells: epithelioid, sarcomatoid, and biphasic.