Other Treatments for Mesothelioma
Because of the severity of the disease, mesothelioma patients are often open to a number of options when it comes to treating their illness. While chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery are the most common methods of treatment, there are indeed a few others that have shown a degree of success in treating the meso patient and the symptoms from which they suffer.
Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic therapy combines the use of a "photoactive" drug and a laser light, both of which work to kill cancer cells while maintaining healthy cells. Also called "light therapy", this treatment begins with the injection of a photo-sensitizer drug which invades all cells but is excreted by healthy ones in just a day or two. After the drug has left the healthy cells but still remains in the mesothelioma-infected ones, the light is applied. In theory, the laser light should kill the cells in which the drug remains.
The biggest challenge with photodynamic therapy is getting the timing right so that healthy cells are spared and others are destroyed. Timing can be tricky, which is why this treatment isn't considered among the most successful in treating mesothelioma. Some patients, however, have shown improvement after light therapy and it should not be discounted as a possible treatment. Doctors hope that newer generation photosensitizing drugs will continue to improve the results of this therapy.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is known by a number of different names. It is also referred to as biotherapy, biological therapy, or biological response modifier therapy. The theory behind this type of therapy is that the stimulation of the body's own natural immune system should be able to aid in combating cancer cells. Researchers have found that sometimes the body can recognize cancer cells and fight to eliminate them. However, most studies done with mesothelioma patients have indicated that the body does not always recognize mesothelioma cells as abnormal. As tests are devised that will help to recognize mesothelioma at its early stages, doctors believe they may have more success with this treatment.
Immunotherapy involves synthetically produced Biological Response Modifiers (BRMs), including interferons, interleukins, tumor necrosis factors, monoclonal antibodies and cancer vaccines, which are introduced into the body in hopes of causing the body to recognize the meso cells as "hostile". This will trigger an immune response and hopefully suppress the growth of the cancer.
A few current immunotherapy studies are testing the use of a combination of this treatment and chemotherapy. Early results have shown some success.
Gene Therapy
Gene therapy attempts to correct defective genes that are responsible for the development of a particular disease. This treatment can be accomplished in a number of ways. Doctors may try to replace abnormal genes with normal ones; they may add normal genes to the genome; they may try mutating the abnormal genes; or may attempt to control the degree to which a gene is turned "on" or "off."
Doctors use "viral vectors" to introduce the new genes into the body because viruses have an uncanny ability of making their way into the cells of a human being. However, the vector will be altered so that, at the same time, it does not introduce any new viruses into the body. Research scientists are also currently seeking what they refer to as a "suicide gene," which will attack cancer cells while leaving normal cells untouched.
Gene therapy is still very much in the experimental stages so it's difficult to determine its measure of success in treating mesothelioma. Further trials will provide more information in the near future.
The Future of Mesothelioma Treatment
Each year, more and more individuals are being diagnosed with mesothelioma. Some countries, like the United Kingdom and Australia, expect that the numbers will continue to increase, with the disease reaching its peak between 2010 and 2015.
Because mesothelioma is becoming more readily recognized as a disease that requires additional attention, more money is being allocated for its study. That means more and more treatment options will become available in the next several years and traditional therapies will be honed so that they work more efficiently in combating the disease and its symptoms.
Clinical trials that involve the use of a number of different kinds of treatment are often available to mesothelioma victims and your doctor can determine whether or not you meet the criteria for participation in such studies.
