Exciting and emerging developments in the management of Mesothelioma

There is always research going on in the area of mesothelioma. New facts are emerging concerning the cause, new treatment possibilities and ways of prevention and better diagnosis of the cancer. Despite recent progress, much remains to be learned about the best way to treat these cancers. The two areas of note are in the area of causes and in the area of treatment.

1-Causes and prevention Much of this research has focused on learning exactly how asbestos changes normal cells and their DNA to cause cancer. Understanding how these fibers produce cancer might help us find ways to prevent those changes.

Now that we know about the dangers of asbestos, we can limit or stop its use in homes, public buildings, and the workplace. But rules to protect people from asbestos are much less strict (or they do not exist at all) in some other countries.

Research is also going on to learn about the role (if any) of a virus (SV40) that has been linked to mesothelioma in some studies.

2-Treatment

Because chemotherapy drugs have not worked very well against advanced mesothelioma, several new ideas are now being studied. These include the possible development of drugs which kill cancers by stopping their blood supply and drugs which interfere with the ability of some cancer cells to grow quickly.

Doctors are always learning more about the best way to treat people with mesothelioma. Treatments that combine surgery, radiation, and chemo are now being studied and may provide the most promising option for some patients. New drugs, along with other modes of treatments, are now being tested in clinical trials.

Another upcoming treatment approach is a type of gene therapy. This treatment uses special viruses that have been changed in the lab. The virus is injected into the space around the lungs where it infects the cancer cells. When this happens, the virus in turn injects a gene into the cancer that may help immune system cells to attack the cancer.

There is also a lot of research into newer types of radiation that may be better able to more precisely map tumors and to give radiation more accurately. This may limit side effects and allow doctors to use higher dose of radiation on the tumors themselves.




Bello kamorudeen. http://www.mesotheliomacorner.blogspot.com