Mesothelioma Therapy: Heated Chemotherapy as a Treatment Option

While recent clinical trials and research studies have made great advancements in understanding mesothelioma cancer, very few treatment options have been established for patients searching for a cure.

One form of treatment that has had recent success in prolonging the mesothelioma life expectancy of patients is hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), a treatment that is still in the developmental process.

HIPEC is performed in combination with surgery and involves the use of a heated chemotherapy solution that is circulated throughout the abdominal cavity while the patient is still in the operating room. The high temperature of the solution has been found to increase the chemotherapy drug’s overall impact.

In a case earlier this year, a man from Grand Rapids, Michigan has survived two years after being diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma thanks to the developing heated chemotherapy option. Jesse Diaz was diagnosed in June 2007 and was later referred to Spectrum Health Hospital surgical oncologist Dr. Mathew Chung.

Dr. Chung has been working with the heated chemotherapy method and Mr. Diaz qualified for the treatment when he was diagnosed. According to Dr. Chung, “We call it the ’shake and bake procedure’ because we would remove everything, put some heated chemotherapy in the abdomen and literally shake the patients so the chemotherapy would circulate in the abdomen.”

This developing technique has made great strides for mesothelioma treatment in recent years. Dr. Chung says, “These patients have a 5-year survival rate of less than 25 percent. With this technique, up to 75 percent survive after five years.”

The average prognosis for mesothelioma patients is between four and 18 months, but Mr. Diaz has been cancer free two years. Considering this type of cancer is difficult to send into remission, this could be a breakthrough treatment option that may lead to other significant discoveries.

Mesothelioma Treatment Doubling Surgery and Chemotherapy Proves Effective for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

A study recently published in the European Journal of Surgical Oncology investigated a treatment approach that repeats both cytoreductive surgery and heated chemotherapy in an effort to improve life expectancy.

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure. The most common form of the cancer affects the lungs and is called pleural mesothelioma; the second most common form is peritoneal mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the abdominal cavity. The cancer has earned a reputation as being difficult to treat, and no cure has been established. Some patients who are diagnosed early may qualify for a combination of treatments (known as multimodality therapy) with hopes of improving their mesothelioma life expectancy.

Authors of the study explain, “Most centers favor aggressive operative cytoreduction, accepting high morbidity and mortality. In our trials, patients underwent less extensive cytoreduction followed by prolonged intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Patients underwent a second cytoreduction with heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy.”

A total of 47 first cytoreductive surgeries were performed and 29 second surgeries were conducted, with 13percent and 26 percent morbidity, respectively. Infections were the cause of 59 percent of morbidity. Results showed overall median survival was 54.9 months, and median survival for the epithelial mesothelioma subtype was 70.2 months.

In conclusion, researchers report, “A two-stage cytoreduction with intraperitoneal chemotherapy offers median survival comparable to one-stage protocols, with relatively low morbidity, mortality, visceral resections and length of stay despite two operations. This series supports that our protocol is a feasible and safe approach.”

Mesothelioma study partnership formed to review use of the drug TroVax

August 11th, 2010 - A partnership between a major biopharmaceutical company in the U.K. and researchers at Cardiff University in Wales will evaluate the drug TroVax for use in treating mesothelioma.

According to RTT News, Oxford BioMedica will team up with cancer immunologists led by Zsuzsanna Tabi at Cardiff University and oncologist Dr. Jason Lester of Velindre Cancer Center in Cardiff.

In the study, the drug will be used in combination with first-line chemotherapy drugs Alimta and cisplatin, both commonly used therapies for mesothelioma. The disease, a rare form of cancer, is linked to previous exposure to asbestos.

The research is funded by the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund. Patient recruitment for Phase I and II of the study is expected to start later this year, the news website reported.

TroVax, a therapeutic cancer vaccine that stimulates an anti-cancer immune response, also recently received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to start Phase II of a study of the drug in use against hormone refractory prostate cancer, a form of the disease that develops when hormone therapy fails to stop its growth. About 80 patients are expected to be enrolled in five study sites across the U.S. The drug will be tested in use with the chemotherapy drug Docetaxel starting later this year.ADNFCR-3137-ID-19923921-ADNFCR

Asbestos Investigation

The BBC’s International News Service, in partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ), has recently released an investigative news report on the state of the global asbestos trade.

Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of malignant mesothelioma cancer. Following repeated exposure to the toxic mineral, symptoms can take as long as 20 to 50 years to arise and a patient’s life expectancy is often very poor since there is no cure for this cancer. Combining aggressive therapies has the potential to extend mesothelioma life expectancy by several months or more, but not all patients qualify for this treatment approach.

The BBC and ICIJ report features the story of Janice Tomkins, a mesothelioma patient in the Quebec Province, Canada. Tomkins represents a growing population across the globe as the rate of asbestos-related disease continues to rise. Since it usually takes decades to develop an asbestos-related disease, the projected incidence rate has been predicted to peak near 2020 considering the use of asbestos declined greatly after the 1970s.

Although more than 50 countries have banned or restricted asbestos, the white form of asbestos is still widely used in Brazil, China, India and Russia, and throughout many developing countries. Although it is not widely used in Canada, white asbestos (known as chrysotile) is heavily mined and exported to various countries. Russia is home to one of the largest asbestos mining operations in the world, producing nearly 1 million tons of asbestos per year. Russia produces almost half the world’s supply of asbestos and one mine near the city of Asbest is close to half the size of Manhattan.

The United States has yet to ban asbestos, but the toxic mineral is regulated and as long as a product has less than 1 percent asbestos it is considered in the United States to be free of asbestos. However, most U.S. residents are under the impression that asbestos was banned in the late-1980s. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attempted to enact a ban in 1989, but the ban was thrown out by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991.

According to BBC’s report, “The WHO says 125 million people encounter white asbestos in the workplace, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 100,000 workers die each year from all asbestos-related diseases.”

Additional information on mesothelioma may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.

Mesothelioma Therapy: Heated Chemotherapy as a Treatment Option

Friday, July 30th, 2010

While recent clinical trials and research studies have made great advancements in understanding mesothelioma cancer, very few treatment options have been established for patients searching for a cure.

One form of treatment that has had recent success in prolonging the mesothelioma life expectancy of patients is hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), a treatment that is still in the developmental process.

HIPEC is performed in combination with surgery and involves the use of a heated chemotherapy solution that is circulated throughout the abdominal cavity while the patient is still in the operating room. The high temperature of the solution has been found to increase the chemotherapy drug’s overall impact.

In a case earlier this year, a man from Grand Rapids, Michigan has survived two years after being diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma thanks to the developing heated chemotherapy option. Jesse Diaz was diagnosed in June 2007 and was later referred to Spectrum Health Hospital surgical oncologist Dr. Mathew Chung.

Dr. Chung has been working with the heated chemotherapy method and Mr. Diaz qualified for the treatment when he was diagnosed. According to Dr. Chung, “We call it the ’shake and bake procedure’ because we would remove everything, put some heated chemotherapy in the abdomen and literally shake the patients so the chemotherapy would circulate in the abdomen.”

This developing technique has made great strides for mesothelioma treatment in recent years. Dr. Chung says, “These patients have a 5-year survival rate of less than 25 percent. With this technique, up to 75 percent survive after five years.”

The average prognosis for mesothelioma patients is between four and 18 months, but Mr. Diaz has been cancer free two years. Considering this type of cancer is difficult to send into remission, this could be a breakthrough treatment option that may lead to other significant discoveries.

Additional information on mesothelioma may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.