Options For Mesothelioma Treatment

Options For Mesothelioma Treatment

Options for Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment

Localized Malignant Mesothelioma (Stage I)
Advanced Malignant Mesothelioma (Stage II, Stage III, and Stage IV)
Recurrent Malignant Mesothelioma

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Localized Malignant Mesothelioma (Stage I)

If the malignant mesothelioma is in one part of the chest lining, treatment will probably be surgery to remove the part of the chest lining with cancer and some of the tissue around it.

If localized malignant mesothelioma is found in more than one place in the chest, treatment may be one of the following:

• Pleurectomy and decortication, with or without radiation therapy, as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life.
• Extrapleural pneumonectomy.
• Radiation therapy as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life.
• A clinical trial of anticancer drugs placed directly into the chest after surgery to remove the tumor.
• A clinical trial of combinations of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
• A clinical trial of a new treatment.

Advanced Malignant Mesothelioma (Stage II, Stage III, and Stage IV)

Treatment of advanced malignant mesothelioma may include the following:

• Surgery to drain fluid that has collected in the chest, to reduce discomfort. Pleurodesis may be done to stop more fluid from collecting in the chest.
• Pleurectomy and decortication, as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life.
• Radiation therapy as palliative therapy to relieve pain.
• Chemotherapy with one anticancer drug.
• A clinical trial of combination chemotherapy.
• A clinical trial of combinations of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
• A clinical trial of chemotherapy placed directly into the chest cavity or abdominal cavity to shrink the tumors and keep fluid from building up.

Recurrent Malignant Mesothelioma

Treatment of recurrent malignant mesothelioma may include the following:

• A clinical trial of biologic therapy.
• A clinical trial of chemotherapy.
• A clinical trial of surgery.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with recurrent malignant mesothelioma. For more options for mesothelioma treatment, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

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