Mesothelioma Treatments

For updated information on non-traditional mesothelioma treatments, please see: Mesothelioma Treatment: Chemotherapy

Non-Traditional Mesothelioma Treatment Options

While the traditional therapies of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are still the primary modalities that doctors use in response to  mesothelioma, there are other responses being investigated by researchers. These new techniques are still in the experimental stage and are the subject of clinical trials.

Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy destroys cancer cells by using the energy from light and may also be effective when combined with surgery. Although this treatment is in the experimental stage for mesothelioma, it has shown promising results in treating other cancers. In the procedure, the patient receives a photosensitizer (a drug which makes cells sensitive to specific wavelengths of light) which collects in cancerous cells but not in healthy cells.

Once the cells have been sensitized, fiber optic cables are placed in the body (usually through open-chest surgery) so that the correct frequency of light can be focused on the tumor. This causes the photosensitizer drug to produce a toxic oxygen molecule which kills the cancer cell.

Gene Therapy

This is a new treatment, currently in clinical trials. This approach allows treatment to target tumors, rather than destroying healthy cells which is the negative of traditional chemotherapy. In gene therapy, cancer is treated by altering genetic defects that allow a tumor to develop. A “suicide gene” is inserted directly into the tumor, making the cells sensitive to a normally ineffectual drug. The drug is then administered to the newly sensitive cancer cells and it destroys those cells while leaving the healthy cells unharmed.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy (or biological therapy) treats cancer by using the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. Another name often applies to this therapy: biological response modifiers (BRMs). Though not yet obtainable, promising clinical studies are underway for immunotherapy.

MesotheliomaHelp.net provides a thorough listing of mesothelioma specialists, treatment centers and support groups, as well as a mesothelioma glossary and information on the latest mesothelioma-related news.