Mesothelioma treatment
As previously mentioned, the most important factor in determining the appropriate treatment modality and the prognosis of this disease is the histopathological type. It should also be emphasized that the earlier the tumor is diagnosed, the more likely it is that it can be treated successfully.
The three main categories of treatment methods in any tumor are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The physician usually mixes and matches multiple methods depending on the susceptibility of the tumor to each.
1) Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy means the usage of powerful drugs given to the patient by mouth or by injection, which are toxic to the tumor cells and cause their destruction. These chemicals are so strong that they may affect the normal cells of the body, leading to various side effects, including but not limited to nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The doctor can prescribe one or more of these drugs after taking into account which is most effective against the specific tumor type the patient has and while trying to minimize the side effects. Currently, cisplatin is considered a first-line drug, and it may or may not be combined with other chemotherapeutic drugs such as pemetrexed, raltitrexed, gemcitabine, and adriamycin among others.
One novel twist on the standard chemotherapy regimen is what is known as Hyperthermic chemotherapy. Here, the surgeon removes as much tumor tissue as possible and then, instead of administering the drugs orally or into the blood stream, the chemotherapeutic cocktail is heated up and administered directly into the affected serous cavity. This allows the usage of high concentrations of drugs without having severe side effects as they aren’t circulating in the blood stream, and the additional heat allows the materials to penetrate deeply into the tissues and damage the cancer cells more effectively.
