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Posted on Monday, Jan 9, 2012

Aggressive Mesothelioma Treatment Leads to Remission

Anne Tsao, M.D., associate professor in MD Anderson’s Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology and director of its Mesothelioma Program is one of the leading authorities of mesothelioma in the United States.  She has treated hundreds of patients with mesothelioma, but she had never been able to declare success over the disease until last year.  In early 2011, Tsao declared one of her patients “in full remission from mesothelioma” after a two-year aggressive chemotherapy treatment regimen.

Mesothelioma, a rare, incurable cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen, has challenged the medical community for years.  Mesothelioma is diagnosed in 2,000 to 3,000 American’s each year, with just as many dying from the disease.  Although researchers have made progress in recent years, the ability to identify an effective treatment modality for each patient combating the fatal disease remains elusive.  

Dr. Tsao, M.D. is one of the strongest advocates for taking a personalized treatment approach to mesothelioma, and it was through this approach that her patient, a 55-year-old Missouri grandmother, was able to beat the disease. 

Personalized cancer treatment targeted to a particular patient optimizes the potential for success of the treatment and provides the patient with the assurance that her physician is not taking a “cookie-cutter” approach to mesothelioma therapy.  

The woman came to Dr. Tsao in January 2009 after being diagnosed with Stage IV Pleural Mesothelioma.  The patient had 15 tumors on her lungs and the mesothelioma had pervaded both lungs.  Surgery was not an option, and Tsao found that the woman’s cancer was too advanced for her to survive radiation treatments.  Tsao chose chemotherapy using a newly approved drug.  The woman endured 28 rounds of chemotherapy beginning January 2009 and ending in December 2010. 

“It is so humbling to be the first of Dr. Tsao’s patients to survive this cancer,” she says. “I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share with patients the hope that could not be given to me.” 

For the fifth year in a row, last year the MD Anderson Cancer Center was ranked by US News & World Report as the nation’s best hospital for cancer care.  Anderson treats approximately 150 mesothelioma patients each year, with the number continuing to grow.   The mesothelioma cancer program has over 30 experts representing the areas of thoracic surgery, thoracic medical oncology, radiation, pulmonary, and pathology – all with an expertise dedicated and focused on mesothelioma.