Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer most commonly caused by asbestos exposure. Unfortunately, after the time of exposure, it can take between 20 and 50 years for a patient to be diagnosed because symptoms often don’t present right away. Of course this delays treatment and sadly, the majority of patients pass away 1 or 2 years after they are diagnosed.
The cancer occurs within the tissue layers that surround many of the body’s internal organs. It can present in the lungs, abdomen, heart, and testicles.
Treatment options include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation, or surgery. Sadly, none of these therapies are completely effective. Even with surgery, it can be impossible to remove every part of the cancerous tumor.
Of course, medicine is constantly advancing. As new discoveries are made, it is essential for more studies to be conducted in order to ensure patients are receiving the best option that the medical field has to offer.
Doctor Marco Trovo from the University Hospital of Udine in Italy wanted to further investigate the impact radiation can have for this population of patients because the process of radiotherapy has had many advances in recent years.
New Study
Typically, radiotherapy is given to mesothelioma patients to help with their disease symptoms. It was never looked at as a cure. However, Dr. Trovo believed that now, with its new advances, it could potentially keep the mesothelioma from spreading.
His study included 108 mesothelioma patients who had been treated with surgery and chemotherapy at the National Cancer Institute of Aviano in Italy. These patients were all randomized. Half of the participants were given radiotherapy to the side of their trunk that housed the tumor. This therapy was administered in 25 treatments. A total of 50 Gy was administered to the trunk and an additional 60 Gy was given to the exact tumor location. The other half of the participants were only given 20-30 Gy to the exact location of the tumor in 5-10 different treatments.
Trovo’s team found that the individuals given a higher dose of the radiotherapy were twice as likely than the patients who had received a lower dose to live for two years or longer after their diagnosis.
As this news spreads, we will hopefully begin to see this patient population have better outcomes.
You can read more about this investigation here.
