therapy for mesothelioma patient

Friday, March 29, 2013

Medication Therapy For Mesothelioma Patient

Mesothelioma Medication Summary

Therapy for mesothelioma patient options for the management of malignant mesothelioma include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and multimodality treatment. Currently, no therapy for mesothelioma patient is considered standard. The standard methods of surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy alone have not improved survival.

Pemetrexed disodium was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma in unresectable disease and those who are not candidates for curative surgery. Several trials from a combination drug to therapy with pemetrexed have been performed. Hughes showed a 32% response rate using pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 and carboplatin (AUC-5) on an every 21 day schedule. An interesting combination of drugs, including raltitrexed and oxaliplatin, has shown a response rate of 20% in previously mesothelioma medications treated patients.

Mesothelioma Medications

A Mesothelioma Medications treatment plan for patients seeking a potentially curative treatment commonly includes one or several drugs that aim to stop the spread of cancer and shrink existing tumors. These Mesothelioma Medications are typically used in combination with other drugs or may be used with further treatments like surgery and radiation therapy. This combination approach, called multimodal therapy, attacks the cancer in multiple ways for the best chance of killing cancer cells and shrinking tumors.

Each Mesothelioma Medications falls into one of a few categories based on how it works against cancer – the main categories being chemotherapy, immunotherapy, photosensitizing and anti-angiogenesis. Some Mesothelioma Medications in each category are still in testing phases, while others have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in mesothelioma or other cancers. Other less common treatments include gene therapy and hormonal therapy, which are both experimental in mesothelioma.

For more information about Mesothelioma Medications treatments, contact the Mesothelioma Center. We provide free patient resources like an informational packet to help patients make informed decisions regarding treatment for their specific diagnosis.

Chemotherapeutic Agents

Tumor Before and After a Chemotherapy Treatment

Chemotherapy is one of the most common Mesothelioma Medications treatments for any cancer, including mesothelioma. Chemotherapeutic agents seek out and attack cells that are rapidly dividing. This causes the drugs to target cancer cells which spread by dividing quickly. However, chemotherapy has its drawbacks. Notably, chemotherapy medication targets any quickly dividing cells and its effects are not exclusive to cancer cells. For many patients, this causes side effects like hair loss, nausea, aching and fatigue and a compromised immune system. Despite side effects, chemotherapy is considered one of the best mesothelioma treatment options. Chemotherapy agents for mesothelioma include the following:

Chemotherapeutic Agents for Mesothelioma

    Carboplatin
    Cisplatin
    Cyclophosphamide
    Doxorubicin
    Gemcitabine
    Navelbine
    Onconase
    Paclitaxel
    Pemetrexed