While the current medical treatments for malignant mesothelioma are still disappointing, recent advances in medical technology offer promise. Diagnosing and identifying the mesothelioma early is key and leads to a significant improvement in the prognosis of someone with mesothelioma.
Surgery
Surgery involves removing the tumor and locally affected tissues surgically. The most common procedure is a pleurectomy - the removal of the parietal pleura, outer lining of the lung. Today, surgery is rarely performed alone, only when other treatments are contraindicated.
Radiation
Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, involves the treatment of the tumor with high energy ionizing radiation. The radiation kills the rapidly dividing cancerous cells by damaging their DNA. The normal healthy cells of the body are affected less as they divide less, giving them more time to repair the damage caused by the radiation.
Side effects of radiation therapy include: nausea, hair loss, fatigue, low blood count, and reddening & shedding of skin (desquamation). In rare cases radiation therapy may lead to the development of other cancers.
Radiation therapy used to treat mesothelioma is usually administered after surgical treatment, and in combination with chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of pharmaceutical drugs to treat the cancer. It is considered to be the most effective technique to improve prognosis and survival rate of mesothelioma patients.
The two common drugs used in the treatment of mesthotheliomas are cisplatin and pemetrexed.
Cisplatin is a platinum based drug and was one of the first drugs used in the pharmaceutical treatment of cancer. The drug works by altering the DNA of the cancer cells, causing them to self destruct - a process known as apoptosis. It's either used alone, or in combination with a second drug - pemetrexed.
Pemetrexed is a newer drug, used in the treatment of mesotheliomas, but also other pulmonary cancers like non-squamous cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It works by inhibiting enzymes used in the production of DNA, slowing down the rate at which the cancerous cells divide.
Patients undergoing chemotherapy may also benefit given vitamin supplements - vitamin B12 and folic acid (vitamin B9). This is to help reduce some of the unwanted side effects of the chemotherapy.