New Drug Combination May Improve Mesothelioma Treatment
A mesothelioma drug approved for use in several European countries has received the backing of the international scientific community.
The drug called raltitrexed, whose brand name is Tomudex, was the subject of discussion at the 35th annual European Society for Medical Oncology congress in Milan, Italy. When combined with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, Tomudex appears to increase the survival rates of mesothelioma patients. That conclusion was backed by studies conducted in 2003 and 2005 by by the Netherlands Cancer Institute, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, the Lung Cancer Group and the National Cancer Institute of Canada.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of an aggressive lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. It can take from 20 to 50 years to develop. Chemotherapy with the drug cisplatin is ss qana usually a first-line treatment. In the U.S., cisplatin is typically combined with another drug called Alimta (pemetrexed) when chemotherapy is recommended for mesothelioma.
In a study published in 2005 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers who tested the Tomudex/cisplatin combination on 250 mesothelioma patients found that 23.6 percent of them had a favorable response (compared to 13.6 for cisplatin alone). Fifty-eight percent of the dual-drug group had no new growth of their tumors and their average survival time was 11.4 months, compared to 8.8 months for cisplatin-only users.
Another significant finding of the study was a lack of myelosuppression, a decrease in bone marrow activity that often results from cancer treatment. Although mesothelioma patients on a pemetrexed chemotherapy mixture often experience myelosuppression and have to take additional doses of folic acid and vitamin B12 to counter the effects, the Tomudex/cisplatin patients did not have this problem.
Tomudex, which is marketed by the drug company Hospira, is not approved by the FDA. It is currently available in Portugal, the Czech Republic and Hungary but may be released in many more European countries by the end of the year. Belgian researcher J.P. van Meerbeeck, one of those who conducted studies on Tomudex, was quoted in a European news website calling the new treatment protocol "a welcome addition to our therapeutic portfolio".
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If a person finds out he or she has mesothelioma, the first thing comes to mind for most is available mesothelioma treatment options. For many, mesothelioma treatment may be as scary to think about as other pressing issues when one discovers they have mesothelioma cancer.
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If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer than you will have to choose the best mesothelioma treatment center to get the best possible treatment and care you deserve. Not all mesothelioma treatment centers provide the same level of treatment. You need to select the best one from a wide range of mesothelioma treatment centers. There are some guidelines which you need to follow while you will choose the best mesothelioma treatment center.
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Orbs are actually a lumpectomy or quadrantectomy combined with rotating the breast tissue or mobilize the flap into the cavity of the surgery time fill is removed. It also includes the comparative change in shape and size is doing in relation to breast and moved if necessary, does not affect the conversion of the breast. The deferred plan the reconstruction is not part of endoplasmic techniques. Both procedures are performed by specific thoracic surgeons.
What every woman fears for is losing her self confidence , losing hope and losing her personality. The term "Breast Cancer" is a very negative word and that it creates negative vibrations in her heart. So, to make her comfortable with the basics of breast cancer and to make her means any woman understand that this type of cancer is the least dangerous than all cancers and that if it is detected early then you will fight with it successfully. Causes, Symptoms, treatment, discussed in detail.
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Asbestos fibers are microscopic, though they are also quite durable. For this reason, asbestos was used in a number of different industrial compounds to enhance strength and resistance to temperature extremes- two properties at which the mineral is highly adept.
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Mesothelioma Information – Basics Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that is usually caused by previous exposure to asbestos.
