Treatment for mesothelioma depends on the cancer is located, the stage of the disease and the patient's age and general health. Usual treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Sometimes, a combination of the three treatments is used.
Surgery is a common treatment for this disease. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. For cancer of the pleura, or pleural mesothelioma, treatment involves removing a lung in an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.
Radiation therapy , or radiotherapy, involves the use of high-energy rays to kill mesothelioma cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy affects the cancer cells only in the area of treatment. The radiation may come from external radiation or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found, called internal radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy treatment is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells throughout the body. Most drugs used as a treatment for cancer are injected into a vein, called intravenous, or IV. Doctors are also studying the effectiveness of putting chemotherapy directly into the chest or abdomen (intracavitary chemotherapy).
To relieve symptoms and control pain, the doctor may use a needle or a thin tube to drain fluid that has built up in the chest or abdomen. The procedure for removing fluid from the chest is called thoracentesis. Removal of fluid from the abdomen is called paracentesis. Drugs may be given through a tube in the chest to prevent more fluid from accumulating. Radiation therapy and surgery may also be helpful in relieving mesothelioma symptoms.
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