Malignant Mesothelioma Cancer Treatment Options
Mesothelioma - New Treatments Being Researched in Clinical Trials
Oct 19, 2009
New mesothelioma cancer treatment options are currently being developed by medical researchers, many of which are in clinical trial stages. What follows is a clear, summarized guide to some of the treatments being developed for malignant mesothelioma cancer patients.
Malignant Mesothelioma Cancer – New Anti-Angiogenesis Drug Treatments
Mesothelioma is part of a group of cancers which are extremely difficult to treat. Since mesothelioma cancer cannot be cured via traditional chemotherapy, medical researchers have been working to identify drugs which can work therapeutically without major side effects. Anti-angiogenesis drugs target mesothelioma tumors by attempting to restrict blood flow to the malignant tumors.
Malignant Mesothelioma Cancer – New Immunotherapy Treatment Options
Immunotherapy, a non-invasive treatment for mesothelioma patients, attempts to stimulate the body's natural immune defenses against cancer. Often called "biological therapy," immunotherapy relies on the use of biological response modifiers (BRMs), materials which enhance the body's reaction to and fight against cancer. (Examples of BRMs are cytokines and natural antibodies).
According to Mesothelioma Web, "Many BRMs are currently being used in cancer treatment, including interferons, interleukins, tumor necrosis factor, colony-stimulating factors, monoclonal antibodies, and cancer vaccines."
Malignant Mesothelioma Cancer – New Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) Treatment Options
It is believed that single-celled organisms are particularly vulnerable to varying frequencies of light. In this developing malignant mesothelioma treatment option, cancer cells are treated with different photosensitive chemicals, and then exposed to light.
While still being developed, Mesothelioma Web writes that typically in PDT, "a photosensitizing drug is administered intravenously. Within a specific time frame (usually a matter of days), the drug selectively concentrates in diseased cells, while rapidly being eliminated from normal cells. The treated cancer cells are then exposed to a laser light chosen for its ability to activate the photosensitizing agent. This laser light is delivered to the cancer site, (in the case of mesothelioma, the pleura), through a fiberoptic device that allows the laser light to be manipulated by the physician. As the agent in the treated cells absorbs the light, an active form of oxygen destroys the surrounding cancer cells. The light exposure must be carefully timed, so that it occurs when most of the photosensitizing drug has left the healthy cells, but is still present in cancerous ones."
Malignant Mesothelioma Cancer - New Gene Therapy Treatment Options
Gene therapy has always focused on solving diseases at the genetic level by working on DNA coding. In using gene therapy as a treatment for mesothelioma cancer patients, researchers are focusing on two options: replacement gene therapy and knockout gene therapy.
In replacement gene therapy, mesothelioma cancer patients have mutated or problematic genes—those causing malignant cancer growth—replaced with normal copies of those genes.
In knockout gene therapy, scientists are working to target "the products of oncogenes (a gene that can induce tumor formation) in an effort to render them inactive and reduce cell growth." While still in an early experimental stage, mesothelioma patients hope the promising advances in gene therapy will soon have a broader platform.
While all of the above experimental therapies are in developmental stages, researchers continue to measure their effects in the hopes that one, or several, will develop into consistently successful treatments in the fight against malignant mesothelioma cancer.
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