There is no single course of treatment for pleural mesothelioma, but experts believe that the best chance of survival is achieved by the combination of several treatments. This approach to cancer treatment is known as multimodal therapy.
Successful treatment of patients with pleural mesothelioma requires a good team of various specialists, such as surgeons, radiologists, oncologists.
Doctors of the world level are constantly experimenting with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy to identify the most effective combination and timing of these procedures.
One of the examples of multimodal therapy involves extrapleural pneumonectomy. Radiation therapy is performed later to reduce the risk of local cancer recurrence, and remote distribution is prevented by chemotherapy.
Best treatment methods for mesothelioma
Surgery
Surgery is a treatment option for patients with early pleural mesothelioma. As a rule, one general procedure is performed – pleuritectomy / decortication, in which doctors remove the tumor and the affected pleura.
A more aggressive variant of surgical intervention – extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) – is aimed at removing the pleura, the entire cancerous lung, the diaphragm and the pericardium, which is a protective membrane covering the heart.
Chemotherapy
The most common treatment for mesothelioma is chemotherapy, which uses one or more drugs to kill cancer cells to reduce the size of tumors. Although the success rates of this method improve every year, in general, they are not high.
The combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed is the most effective chemotherapy regimen for pleural mesothelioma. Other effective chemotherapeutic drugs include gemcitabine, carboplatin, and doxorubicin.
While researchers have not yet found a perfect combination of chemotherapy drugs that can cure pleural mesothelioma, this is the main goal of countless clinical trials.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy for mesothelioma implies the use of a beam of ionizing radiation to affect the tumor.
During radiotherapy, doctors perform targeted radiation that destroys cancer cells and reduces the size of the tumor. Drug therapy can not cure pleural mesothelioma, but it effectively reduces pain in the chest.
One of the most successful methods of radiation therapy is radiotherapy with modulated intensity. It is usually applied at intervals after a radical surgery of the EPP type. This technique prevents the recurrence of cancer in many cases.
Targeted therapy
Targeted methods of mesothelioma treatment, such as immunotherapy and gene therapy, focus on cancer cells directly, without harming healthy cells. The targeted approach causes fewer side effects because healthy cells remain unharmed.
The choice of methods for treating pleural mesothelioma depends on many factors. The treatment of a malignant tumor is determined by the oncological pathology stage. At the earliest stage with a localized tumor, doctors use a surgical method with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. That prevents cancer cells from entering other organs and such a complex gives a more favorable result.
Natural methods of mesothelioma treatment
Oncology is also treated with folk remedies. People need to supplement the treatment of cancer pathologies, but not replace it.
One of the methods is phytotherapy. These are drugs obtained from medicinal plants. They are able to stimulate and restore immunity.
Immunity is the main bodyguard of the body. After all, an oncological disease, like any other, occurs when immunity is weakened. To stop and destroy the pathogenic process, you need to stimulate and restore your immunity with the help of natural remedies: medicinal herbs, beekeeping products, vitamins.
All these remedies are good because they act on the body as a whole. The human body is a rather complex “mechanism” in which every “detail” is important. Even the smallest breakage can disrupt the entire process, therefore, you must treat all organs and systems in time. The effect of treatment with natural remedies is small, but it should not be neglected. Herbs will not eliminate the disease but reduce the pain.
