Mesothelioma Remission

While researchers continue looking for a cure for mesothelioma, there are signs of hope: Several people have achieved remission. For a small number of patients, remission is spontaneous. In other cases, patients adopted specialized treatment regimens to gain remission. Cancer remission – including mesothelioma – may fall into one of two categories: complete remission and partial remission.

Mesothelioma Patients Who Gained Remission

Some examples of remission:

• A 54-year-old male in Germany with pleural mesothelioma achieved significant partial remission after receiving seven cycles of the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine. A CT scan taken 36 weeks after treatment revealed his tumor had shrunk by more than 50 percent. A report of the case noted the patient’s locally advanced and irremovable tumor responded favorably and was accompanied by mild, flu-like side effects through the first three cycles of treatment.
• A British hospital patient, diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, saw the disease spontaneously regress. During a 12-year period, there was only one recurrence. The recurrence – six years after original regression – led to successful surgery with no further complications.
• A Japanese woman with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma went into complete remission after surgery and a combination of chemotherapy and caffeine injections. Following surgery, the woman underwent a chemo routine of cisplatin and etoposide. Side effects caused her doctor to change the chemo regimen to uracil and tegafur. Her tumor and ascites disappeared 223 days after surgery. Her remission lasted eight months. The cancer recurred in the woman’s pleura.
• A 61-year-old woman was diagnosed with poorly differentiated epithelial pleural mesothelioma in 2002. She entered an Australian clinical trial for the chemotherapy drug thalidomide, but before the trial began, the tumor began displaying signs of regression. By June 2003, her multiple pleural masses were completely absent. The woman was last examined in June 2007, when she was in good health and showed no signs of tumors.

What Contributes To Mesothelioma Remission or Regression?

After reviewing case histories, doctors identified several factors that may contribute to mesothelioma remission. Surgery is the treatment most likely to lead to prolonged remission, but some patients have noted partial or complete remission after other therapies, such as:

• Systemic chemotherapy
• Immunotherapy
• Oxygen therapy
• Significant dietary changes (adopting a vegetarian diet)
• Nutritional supplements

For example, immunotherapy studies in animals have shown a favorable response to a genetically altered version of the Newcastle disease virus (a virus that affects birds). Mesothelioma cell lines were found to be susceptible to the genetically altered virus. In the study, 65 percent of the animals completely responded to the Newcastle viral therapy within 14 days of treatment. This led researchers to hypothesize that the Newcastle disease virus may be able to promote remission of pleural mesothelioma.

While each of these promising therapies offers some degree of benefit to patients, they have not yet been proven to always trigger remission. Each patient’s illness is unique and will respond differently to treatment. For further information about clinical trials that explore these potential cures, please fill out the form on this page. Additionally, the Mesothelioma Center’s Doctor Match program can help patients locate a mesothelioma specialist in their area.

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