Category: Treatments

Mesothelioma is a serious and rare cancer that occurs in individuals that have either inhaled or swallowed asbestos fibers.  The fibers then travel through the body becoming lodged, resulting in cancer typically decades later.   Currently there is no known cure for mesothelioma, and the prognosis is grim with the average survival time varying from 4 …

Pleural mesothelioma is an asbestos-related pulmonary cancer most commonly found in the outer lining of the lungs called the mesothelium.  Often mesothelioma patients suffer from pleural effusions, or an accumulation of fluid between the lining of the lung and the chest cavity that can seriously restrict the lung’s ability to expand, even collapsing its supportive tissues, resulting …

Researchers in Italy conducting a Phase IV study looking at Avastin’s use in a broad, real-life setting for lung cancer patients have found no new safety problems with the drug, and concluded that previous safety issues are no more common in this study than in previous findings.  Avastin, with the drug name bevacizumab, is also …

One of the tragic facts of mesothelioma is that once diagnosed the average survival time is from 4-18 months.  While it can be treated with varying degrees of success through the use of surgical procedures, chemotherapy and radiation, there is still no known cure. When a mesothelioma patient no longer responds to a prescribed treatment …

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelial cells, caused by breathing in asbestos fibers that become lodged in the thin membrane that lines and encases the lungs. Although there is no cure for mesothelioma, it can be treated with varying degrees of success through the use of surgical procedures, chemotherapy and radiation. One type of …

Researchers from Johns Hopkins have created a test that can identify if and when a tumor is coming back after a patient has undergone initial treatment. Blood tests are compared with the unique genetic cancer sequences from the original tumor to tell whether surgeons removed all of the cancerous cells, whether the cancer has spread …

The makers of Oncolyn, a plant-derived natural anticancer remedy, claim that taking the tablets “caused objective and subjective improvement of patients with different types of cancers,” including mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer typically affecting the lining of the lungs. Primarily caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers, most cases of mesothelioma are …

A relatively new minimally-invasive surgical procedure known as Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) that uses fiber-optic imaging to see a detailed view of the pleural cavity and its surrounding tissues offers another surgical option for pleural mesothelioma patients. Using video tools inserted through a small incision in the chest, the surgeon can conduct diagnostic tests or …

The most common chemotherapy treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma is a combination therapy of cisplatin and pemetrexed. This combination is used as a first-line treatment in patients for which resection (surgery) is not an option, as well as in adjuvant chemotherapy treatment after surgery. This combination is effective, yet it can be toxic with a …

With a goal “to identify and develop treatment regimens to improve the quality of our patients’ lives and to eradicate mesothelioma as a life-threatening disease,” doctors and researchers at the University of Chicago Mesothelioma Program are pioneers in the research and treatment of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma, an unusual form of cancer known to be caused …