Mesothelioma.us releases new case study that focuses on experimental treatments for mesothelioma

Jun 15 2015

Mesothelioma.us, an educational and authoritative website that offers free and in-depth resources for mesothelioma patients and their families, has just released a new case study that focuses on the experimental treatments for the disease.

As the newly-posted case study on http://mesothelioma.us/ notes, there are several experimental treatments that are currently being evaluated.

For example, a therapy called Alimta (pemetrexed) has recently been developed to treat pleural mesothelioma. The chemotherapy drug was the focus of a clinical trial that was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists. As the case study on Mesothelioma.us noted, the results from the clinical trial showed that Alimta is the first treatment that can relieve the symptoms of mesothelioma and also increase the patient's survival rate.

Photodynamic therapy is also discussed in the new case study. The procedure, which involves administering photosensitive drugs directly into the mesothelial cells, allows doctors to use a laser light to activate photosensitive drugs that will then destroy the cancer cells.

Immunotherapy, which boosts the body's ability to fight cancer, is another exciting experimental mesothelioma treatment that is discussed in the case study.

"Immunotherapy makes use of biological response modifiers (BRMs) to improve the body's ability in fighting disease," the case study noted, adding that BRMs that are currently used include interferons, interleukins, monoclonal antibodies, tumor necrosis factors and cancer vaccines.

"The first step is the removal of healthy cells, which are then exposed to cytokines and antibodies. These enhanced cells are then put back into the Peritoneum, where they then enhance the body's ability to fight cancer."

While studies have shown significant reduction of the mesothelioma tumors at very early stages of the disease, more research is needed to determine immunotherapy's effectiveness as a treatment for malignant mesothelioma.