preview

Essay On Mesothelioma

Decent Essays
Open Document

Advances being made in mesothelioma treatment
For current mesothelioma patients and the 3,000 new cases diagnosed each year, there is some hope, in the form of recent advances that allow specialists to take a more curative approach and enable patients to live longer, higher quality lives.
While the typical mesothelioma patient lives an average of nine to 12 months after diagnosis, there are mesothelioma survivors today living much longer: three, five, or 10 or more years after undertaking aggressive, multidisciplinary treatment.
Emerging mesothelioma therapies
While current treatment approaches of surgery combined with chemotherapy and radiation have significantly extended the lives of mesothelioma sufferers, there are emerging treatments being used in clinical trials that have shown greater promise.
These include:
• Gene therapy
• Immunotherapy
• Photodynamic therapy
• Virotherapy …show more content…

The goal is to inhibit mesothelioma’s spread. According to the American Cancer Society, adding these new genes to mesothelioma cancer cells makes them easier to kill.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy uses the body’s immune system to fight against mesothelioma. This therapy has been used successfully when combined with other treatment options. And unlike other treatments, there are no toxic side effects.
There are at least 20 immunotherapy clinical trials and studies underway. One of these is at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. Scientists there are now able to grow cancer cells in a lab that they can program for destruction by patients’ immune systems. Nine patients with mesothelioma will initially be treated by this method. If the treatment is successful, more patients will be eligible for treatment next year.
Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic therapy uses light energy and drugs that react specifically to that energy to kill cancer cells. It is in the early stages of testing for efficacy against

Get Access