Pleural Mesothelioma Patients' Survival Rate May Improve with Trimodality Therapy
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
Results from a study reported in the June 20, 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology states that the survival rate of patients with pleural mesothelioma may improve following a trimodality therapy treatment approach.
Patients with Stage I through Stage III pleural mesothelioma, a rare cancer that affects the lining of the lungs, may benefit from the trimodality approach, which uses three different forms of treatment to combat the cancer.
The study evaluated 77 patients with Stage I – III pleural mesothelioma, and began the trimodality therapy approach with neoadjuvant (pre-surgery) chemotherapy using Alimta and Platinol medications. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy aims to reduce the size of the cancer prior to surgery.
Following chemotherapy, three patients demonstrated a pathological complete response, referring to the disappearance of all clinical evidence of a disease. This does not mean the patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma were cured, as microscopic cancerous cells may remain undetected.
Fifty-four patients then underwent surgery, the second round of treatment in the trimodality therapy study. Forty patients then received radiation therapy to complete the entire treatment cycle. Median survival rate for all patients in the study was 17 months, but those who completed all three rounds of treatment saw a two-year survival rate of 61 percent.
Researchers involved in the study concluded the trimodality therapy approach produced reasonable long-term survival results.
Additional information about mesothelioma and mesothelioma treatment may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2009 at 9:05 am and is filed under Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.
