Experimental therapies that help treat Mesothelioma

There are a number of traditional treatments for patients who have mesothelioma that have varying effectiveness. These include: surgery to remove affected tissue, chemotherapy which uses drugs to combat the disease and radiation therapy whose short treatments can reduce tumor size.

None of these treatments has actually cured the disease, just slowed the process down a little. The idea of a cure is relative with cancer. The term ‘cure’ when describing cancer means that the patient survives more than five years following successful treatment. Experimental therapies that help treat mesothelioma are tested in clinical trials for the possibility of becoming a cure for the disease.

Experimental Therapies

Gene Therapy – cells that have altered genetic material inserted into them attack and kill the cancerous cells. This therapy is one of the most cutting edge of research and is in the early stages of development. It is thought that this therapy can be used alone or in conjunction with other (even traditional) treatments. One potential use for this therapy is to kill the cancer cells that remain in the body after surgery.

Immunotherapy – the body’s immune system is used to fight off cancer cells by using drugs to augment the body’s natural immune response, disable the cancer cells from metastasizing and actually combat the growth of cancerous cells by using cytokines. Cytokines like interferons and interleukins are proteins that occur naturally which behave like hormones which have a specific effect on other cells.

Photodynamic Therapy – you are given a photosensitizing agent that makes the cancer cells sensitive to light (at specific wavelengths) and then fiber optic wires are inserted into your body to focus the light waves. This kills cancer cells and tumors by creating a molecule that is toxic to mesothelioma cells.

Celebrex – this drug that is used for arthritis has shown promise as an agent that inhibits the growth of mesothelioma without inhibiting the growth of normal mesothelial cells.

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) – radiation is focused on the tumor at high intensity without harming the local healthy cells. This can be used on tumors that were previously thought of as being untreatable.

Angiogenesis Therapy – the growth of new blood vessels is stimulated with the use of drugs. These new blood vessels combat the growth of tumors, and in many cases work to shrink the size of the tumors with the healthy blood vessels. The therapy is experimental but promising as a treatment that avoids damaging the body’s normal cells while attacking the mesothelioma.