Which treatment option for you will be the best person, depends on many factors, including your age, general health, cancer stage, cell type (which determines the aggressiveness of cancer) and, most importantly, your personal preferences. To help you in evaluating these options, you have a "multidisciplinary team" (MDT) of doctors available that will discuss your case and tell you its proposed treatment strategy. This team could consist of a cardiothoracic surgeon, a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, a specialist in pain management and palliative care specialists. Also nurses / nurses and other medical therapists may be involved in your treatment.
The conventional treatment for mesothelioma includes several options, and you should discuss each option thoroughly with your MDT before making a treatment decision. Be sure to be informed about the risk factors, treatment, prognosis, potential side effects and quality of life associated with each option.
Operation
There are two surgical methods for the treatment of mesothelioma, the pleurectomy / decortication (P / D) and extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). These are very special operations that may not be available in all hospitals. Not all thoracic surgeons have experience with these types of operations. The ultimate goal of these interventions is the removal of all macroscopic tumor tissue that residual microscopic Tumorgewebsteilchen remain with the knowledge, most likely in the body. An adjuvant therapy for the additional forms of treatment to be applied together with the primary treatment, usually has the goal to eliminate these residual Tumorgewebsteilchen. The most common forms of adjuvant therapy is chemotherapy and / or radiation therapy.
The pleurectomy / decortication is regarded as the less radical method, since it involves only the removal of the pleura (lung lining) and not the underlying lung resection. In some cases, the pericardium and the diaphragm may be removed, which depends on the size of the tumor. Advantages of this method are a generally faster recovery time and usefulness in patients who may not tolerate the more radical EPP. Disadvantages include an increased risk of disease recurrence due to the inability to remove all cancerous tissue, as well as the inability due to a potential injury to the underlying lung to use high doses of adjuvant radiation.
The extrapleural pneumonectomy is a more radical procedure, the removal of the lung, pleura (lung lining), pericardium (which surrounds the heart) and diaphragm includes parts. At operation the pericardium and diaphragm are restored with a Gore-like material. Patients can be considered for the operation in question only if they meet certain criteria and staging of an adequate heart and lung function, to be prepared for this process.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the use of anti-cancer drugs that act by inhibiting cell division of cancer cells. In most cases, combinations of drugs are used to increase the effectiveness. Chemotherapy can be used aggressively to shrink the tumor, or palliative, to relieve symptoms such as shortness of breath or pain. Chemotherapy can be administered by injection into a vein or muscle, by administration via the mouth or sometimes by direct administration into the pleural or peritoneal space. Some of the most commonly used drugs are:
Pemetrexed (Alimta)
Cisplatin (Platinol)
Carboplatin (paraplatin)
Gemcitabine (Gemzar)
Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)
Mitomycin
Raltitrexed (Tomudex)
Vinorelbine (Navelbine)
Constantly new drugs by pharmaceutical companies to test, so that you can ask for the newest and most promising drugs your doctor at any time. Such a drug Alimta (pemetrexed), was approved in September 2005 in Europe.
Radiotherapy
Radiation therapy involves the use of high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink the tumor. They can be aggressive, in connection with an operation used to remove microscopic, scattered tumor tissue, which can cause a disease recurrence or palliative treatment for pain caused by the tumor pressing on nerve endings or other organs. Radiation therapy has also proven effective in the prevention of the spread of cancer to the biopsy site or at the site of insertion of chest drainage catheter.
Clinical Studies
The goal of clinical trials is the involvement of patients in finding new and better ways to treat the disease in these patients. Several clinical studies have different objectives, which may include a testing of new drugs, the comparison of different ways of treating disease or testing different techniques of cancer prevention. Clinical trials are divided into three phases. Below a short summary of the objectives of each phase are listed.
Phase I studies are in the earliest phase of clinical trials. At this time, the drugs have been tested only in the laboratory, where they have shown an effect in the destruction of cancer cells. In these studies, only a limited number of participants is taken, and the studies are conducted in a limited number of hospitals. The goal of the Phase I studies is to determine the maximum tolerated dose of medication without severe side effects occur; find out the most common side effects and to answer the question whether the drug further comprising an anti-cancer effects in the application in humans. If the medication at a safe dose shows an effect on cancer, the drug is then tested in phase II trials.
Phase II trials test the safety of drugs continue or methods, but more accurately analyze the effectiveness of various types of cancer. In these studies, a somewhat larger number of nodes is received and the studies may be carried out on numerous hospitals. These studies can be "randomized", which means that different groups of participants are selected by a computer instead. By a doctor
Phase III trials compare a promising new drug or procedure with the current standard of care. Many participants from large areas to be included in this study to receive either the new treatment or the standard treatment. One of the primary goals of Phase III trials is the answer to the questions whether the cancer is reduced by the drugs or the growth is slowed, as long as the patient is stable without disease progression, and how treatment with the drug, the 'quality of life Patients affected.
If you are interested in participating in a clinical trial of mesothelioma, your doctor should be able to give you information about your eligibility for participation and on the implementation of such studies in your community and environment.
The conventional treatment for mesothelioma includes several options, and you should discuss each option thoroughly with your MDT before making a treatment decision. Be sure to be informed about the risk factors, treatment, prognosis, potential side effects and quality of life associated with each option.
Operation
There are two surgical methods for the treatment of mesothelioma, the pleurectomy / decortication (P / D) and extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). These are very special operations that may not be available in all hospitals. Not all thoracic surgeons have experience with these types of operations. The ultimate goal of these interventions is the removal of all macroscopic tumor tissue that residual microscopic Tumorgewebsteilchen remain with the knowledge, most likely in the body. An adjuvant therapy for the additional forms of treatment to be applied together with the primary treatment, usually has the goal to eliminate these residual Tumorgewebsteilchen. The most common forms of adjuvant therapy is chemotherapy and / or radiation therapy.
The pleurectomy / decortication is regarded as the less radical method, since it involves only the removal of the pleura (lung lining) and not the underlying lung resection. In some cases, the pericardium and the diaphragm may be removed, which depends on the size of the tumor. Advantages of this method are a generally faster recovery time and usefulness in patients who may not tolerate the more radical EPP. Disadvantages include an increased risk of disease recurrence due to the inability to remove all cancerous tissue, as well as the inability due to a potential injury to the underlying lung to use high doses of adjuvant radiation.
The extrapleural pneumonectomy is a more radical procedure, the removal of the lung, pleura (lung lining), pericardium (which surrounds the heart) and diaphragm includes parts. At operation the pericardium and diaphragm are restored with a Gore-like material. Patients can be considered for the operation in question only if they meet certain criteria and staging of an adequate heart and lung function, to be prepared for this process.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the use of anti-cancer drugs that act by inhibiting cell division of cancer cells. In most cases, combinations of drugs are used to increase the effectiveness. Chemotherapy can be used aggressively to shrink the tumor, or palliative, to relieve symptoms such as shortness of breath or pain. Chemotherapy can be administered by injection into a vein or muscle, by administration via the mouth or sometimes by direct administration into the pleural or peritoneal space. Some of the most commonly used drugs are:
Pemetrexed (Alimta)
Cisplatin (Platinol)
Carboplatin (paraplatin)
Gemcitabine (Gemzar)
Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)
Mitomycin
Raltitrexed (Tomudex)
Vinorelbine (Navelbine)
Constantly new drugs by pharmaceutical companies to test, so that you can ask for the newest and most promising drugs your doctor at any time. Such a drug Alimta (pemetrexed), was approved in September 2005 in Europe.
Radiotherapy
Radiation therapy involves the use of high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink the tumor. They can be aggressive, in connection with an operation used to remove microscopic, scattered tumor tissue, which can cause a disease recurrence or palliative treatment for pain caused by the tumor pressing on nerve endings or other organs. Radiation therapy has also proven effective in the prevention of the spread of cancer to the biopsy site or at the site of insertion of chest drainage catheter.
Clinical Studies
The goal of clinical trials is the involvement of patients in finding new and better ways to treat the disease in these patients. Several clinical studies have different objectives, which may include a testing of new drugs, the comparison of different ways of treating disease or testing different techniques of cancer prevention. Clinical trials are divided into three phases. Below a short summary of the objectives of each phase are listed.
Phase I studies are in the earliest phase of clinical trials. At this time, the drugs have been tested only in the laboratory, where they have shown an effect in the destruction of cancer cells. In these studies, only a limited number of participants is taken, and the studies are conducted in a limited number of hospitals. The goal of the Phase I studies is to determine the maximum tolerated dose of medication without severe side effects occur; find out the most common side effects and to answer the question whether the drug further comprising an anti-cancer effects in the application in humans. If the medication at a safe dose shows an effect on cancer, the drug is then tested in phase II trials.
Phase II trials test the safety of drugs continue or methods, but more accurately analyze the effectiveness of various types of cancer. In these studies, a somewhat larger number of nodes is received and the studies may be carried out on numerous hospitals. These studies can be "randomized", which means that different groups of participants are selected by a computer instead. By a doctor
Phase III trials compare a promising new drug or procedure with the current standard of care. Many participants from large areas to be included in this study to receive either the new treatment or the standard treatment. One of the primary goals of Phase III trials is the answer to the questions whether the cancer is reduced by the drugs or the growth is slowed, as long as the patient is stable without disease progression, and how treatment with the drug, the 'quality of life Patients affected.
If you are interested in participating in a clinical trial of mesothelioma, your doctor should be able to give you information about your eligibility for participation and on the implementation of such studies in your community and environment.
