Mesothelioma Chemotherapy

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Mesothelioma Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is one of the most top treatment procedures,which proves to be effective for the patients suffering from Mesothelioma. However, chemotherapy’s effectiveness relies on the severity of the cancer, as it can improve the quality of life, alleviate the symptoms and provide a prolonged survival as well. The major concern for patients diagnosed with the third or fourth stage of Mesothelioma is whether to or not to undergo chemotherapy sessions.

The basic aim of chemotherapy is to destroy the cancerous cells. Alimta (pemetrexed)along with cisplatin are chemotherapy drugs for the treatment of pleural Mesothelioma. Alimta came to its approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2005 as the only approved chemotherapy medication for treating Mesothelioma.

Out of a total number of 448 Mesothelioma patients, 226 patients received a combination of pemetrexed and cisplatin, whereas 222 received only cisplatin in a Phase III clinical trial testing in the year 2003. The results declared that a combination of pemetrexed and cisplatin turned out to be much more effective as compared to the results seen from cisplatin alone. The survival readings showed (Combination vs. Cisplatin alone) 12.1 months vs. 9.3 months, the median time to progressive disease 5.7 months vs. 3.9 months and the response rate of 41% vs. 17%.

Single Agent and Combination Chemotherapy

The effectiveness of single agent mesothelioma chemotherapy has undergone a prolonged study. The majority of the clinical trials report that most of the patients do not respond well to single agent chemotherapy ranging from zero to 15%. However, some patients respond well to increased levels of dosage of the medication. Cisplatin, doxorubicin and carboplatin are to best to use as single agent chemotherapydrugs for treating mesothelioma.

The combination chemotherapy includes using two or more cancer treating medications or drugs. Some of the recent studies show positive results for the patients undergoing the combined chemotherapy medication process. As cited above, one of the most effective treatments for Mesothelioma patients is by the combination of pemetrexed and cisplatin. However, other combinations include cisplatin with mitomycin, cisplatin with doxorubicin and cisplatin with gemcitabine. In addition, triple drug combinations have not shown better results as compared to double drug combinations.

Chemotherapy for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients

As per the trials conducted for peritoneal Mesothelioma patients, the most efficient chemotherapy treatment procedure remains unclear do to its smaller amounts of trials. Chemotherapy for peritoneal Mesothelioma patients is the only solution, as they do not require surgery.

For patients who long to combat this disease, intraperitoneal chemotherapy could provide positive results for them. Makman et al examined 19 Intraperitoneal Mesothelioma patients undergoing treatment with a combination of mitomycin and cisplatin.

It was noticed that out of the 15 malignant ascites patients (excessive fluid in between the spacing of the abdominal organs and the abdominal lining), only seven (around 47%) felt a control over the fluid accumulation from two to 73 months. However, only four patients out of them managed to survive more than the span of three years.

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy consists of a procedure, which includes injecting high concentrated drug dosage straight into the peritoneal cavity, but poorly penetrating into the tumors. This is because studies noted that the absorption of drug by tumor occursonly at a distance of negligible millimeters from its surface. Therefore, for peritoneal Mesothelioma patients, who are ready to try treatments during the development process, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy or HIPEC could be an option.

Before commencing the HIPEC, which is also popular as heated chemotherapy, many patients tend to undertake surgery to remove the tumors. However, in HIPEC, patients are treated using heated chemotherapy solution, which then circulates all the way throughout the entire abdominal cavity. The effectiveness of the medication boosts due to the hightemperature of the medication. This heated chemotherapy provides prolonged survivaland reduces pain to a good extent as well.

First Line vs. Second Line Chemotherapy

The first-line chemotherapy provides a positive approach for treating cancer. This first line chemotherapy method for patients with pleural Mesothelioma, includes a combination of pemetrexed and cisplatin, however, other medications may come to their typical use depending on different factors. Second line chemotherapy comes to its use when first line chemotherapy fails to show positive results or treat cancer. This type of chemotherapy could involve either an entirely different medication combination or the same approach.

Benefits of Chemotherapy

Mesothelioma patients who opted for chemotherapy have shown positive results in the recent clinical trials. The combination of cisplatin with other drugs for chemotherapy proves to be of great advantage according to many of the clinical examinations. The specialists researching on the Mesothelioma treatment methods are acquiring good knowledge of the drugs used and the drug reactions due to the clinical trial testing.

Even though chemotherapy works in contrast with other surgical or the radiation therapy treatments, chemotherapy could be the first treatment option for the patients suffering from Mesothelioma and not entitled to any surgery. Most importantly, one must get familiar with the side effects of chemotherapy before considering it as a treatment method for Mesothelioma.

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