New Mesothelioma Treatment Options

Current researchhas mostly beenrevolving aroundthe development of new treatments;or improving the efficacyof currenttraditional treatments;. This is a very important and encouraging development for mesotheliomapatientsas someof the new treatments;such as new chemotherapyagents and combinationsof agents havebeenshowingimprovedresults in test beingcarried out

PDT or PhotoDynamic therapy is one of the latestmesotheliomatreatment;options;beingresearched;. PDT is based on the theory thatsingle celled organisms die whenexposedto certain frequencyof light. In PDT treatment;then, photosensitive drugs are administeredintravenously into the patient.Under normalcircumstances, the drug willzoom in and concentrateon the diseasedcells and destroy it withi;a few days. However,someside effectssuch as skin sensitivity, nauseaand vomiting havebeenrecorded in patientsundergoingPDT.

Anothernew treatment;beingtested is Immunotherapyor biologicaltherapy as it is sometimes;known as. In Immunotherapyor biologicaltherapy,the treatment;usesthe immunesystemof the patient’s bodyis usedto treatand fightoff the disease.

As the patient's bodyability to treatitself might be hampered Whenthey are stricken by mesotheliomad;ue;, the Immunotherapytreatment;willtry to rejuvenate the patients’ immunesystem. Improvingthe patientsnaturalimmunesystemis thought to be the most effectiveway to combat thisdisease. Anotheraspect of thistherapy is thatit willalsotry to repairother faulty areas in the immunesystemswhere possible. Biological Response Modifiers (BRMs),a naturally;occuringsubstancein the bodyare what is usedin immunotherapy.Although BRMs is a naturally;occuringsubstancein the body, laboratoryresearchhas shown thatit can now be prepared in the laboratoryand has beenfoundto be just as effectiveas the naturalBRMs.

Anothernew formof mesotheliomatreatment;optionthatis beingdevelopedis the Intensity ModulatedRadiationTherapyor IMRT. In IMRT, radiation doses administeredto the tumoris localizedand controlledso thatthe radiation treatment;does not cause unwanted damageto the nearby normaland healthy cells,whichis one of the drawbacks of currenttraditional treatments;.

Anotherimportant breakthrough thatresearchershavemade is in treatingmesotheliomaat the DNA levelthrough GeneTherapy. Whenadministering GeneTherapy, doctors willtry to correct or replace the abnormalor damaged;genes. The two main types of GeneTherapymost commonly usedtoday are ReplacementGeneTherapyand Knockout GeneTherapy.

In ReplacementGeneTherapythe mutatedor missinggene whichcausesthe mesotheliomais replacedwhereasin Knockout GeneTherapy, the genes responsiblefor creating the tumoris completelyeliminated.

With moreresearchbeingdonein GeneTherapytoday, muchmoreinforma;tion;regardinggenes are beingunfolded constantly.As such,gene therapy treatments;holds the highestpromise of the future in the treatment;of mesothelioma.

Other forms;of treatments;whichuse somecombinationsof surgery, radiation therapy,and chemotherapy,sometimes;called multimodalitytherapy,are alsocurrently;beingresearched;.

Last but not least, Heated IntraoperativeIntraperitonealChemotherapycombined withthe use of a pemetrexed drug, brand named Alimta,are someof the new developments in the treatment;of mesothelioma.

With researchgoingon in somemanyspheres fromGeneTherapy, Biologicals as well as combinationaltreatments;, the outlookfor mesotheliomatreatment;options;looksto be brightand expanding.