From the blog

Two Substances Used to Treat Different Cancers Could Potentially Help Mesothelioma Patients

Two drugs could soon be used together to treat the most aggressive form of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer with very few options for treatment. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy can be used to extend patients’ lives, but they cannot be used to completely cure the disease. There is still hope[…]

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Heated Intra-peritoneal Chemotherapy With Doxorubicin and Cisplatin for the Treatment of Resectable, Refractory, or Recurrent Abdominal or Pelvic Tumors in Pediatric Patients, T.O.A.S.T. I.T. Study

This early phase I trial studies how well heated intra-peritoneal chemotherapy with doxorubicin and cisplatin work for the treatment of abdominal or pelvic tumors that can be removed by surgery (resectable), does not respond to treatment (refractory), or has come back (recurrent). Heated intra-peritoneal chemotherapy is a procedure performed in combination with abdominal surgery for cancer that has spread to the abdomen. It involves the infusion of a heated chemotherapy solution that circulates into the abdominal cavity. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as doxorubicin and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Heating a chemotherapy solution and infusing it directly into the abdomen may kill more cells.

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New Molecular Compound May Improve Chemotherapy Treatment for those Suffering from Mesothelioma

Researchers from MIT and Duke may have found a way to make chemotherapy treatments more effective. Chemotherapy is usually the first treatment that is used in people diagnosed with cancer. It can be helpful, but cancers can have different responses and resistances to it. This new research can help make[…]

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Pain Shows the Success or Failure of a Pleurodesis

Mesothelioma is a painful cancer that is caused by asbestos exposure. Patients who are diagnosed must live with multiple uncomfortable symptoms, but thankfully there are some treatments available to help improve a patient’s quality of life. One of these procedures is a pleurodesis, which helps to drain fluid surrounding the[…]

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Shorter Survival for Mesothelioma Patients Linked to Specific Biomarker

Mesothelioma is a very aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis. When diagnosed, patients can sometimes be given just a few months to live.  Doctors and researchers are continuing to find treatment options to help cure, extend, or at least make patients’ lives better. Some researchers are looking at biomarkers, which[…]

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Upcoming Mesothelioma Events in 2020

If you are interested in learning more about mesothelioma, we have a curated list of different events coming up in 2020. If you live near or are able to travel to these events, they can help you and your loved ones understand the disease better. Mayo Clinic Radiation Oncology: Current[…]

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Extrapleural Pneumonectomy vs Pleurectomy and Decortication

There are different procedures to help those suffering from mesothelioma, including the extrapleural pneumonectomy and the combination of pleurectomy and decortication. Both procedures have their benefits and drawbacks, but doctors have not tested to see which procedure has a better outcome for patients. Both surgeries remove tumors from the patients’[…]

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New Clinical Trial Testing Effectiveness of Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy Before Surgery

Mesothelioma, the cancer of the linings of different organs, but primarily the lungs, has a poor prognosis and survival rate for those who are diagnosed. Since there is no cure, treatments helping to extend people’s lives need to be tested. Clinical trials help doctors find new ways to treat mesothelioma[…]

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Pembrolizumab and Hypofractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy in Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MESO-PRIME)

This is a multi-centre non-randomised open-label phase 1 trial of pembrolizumab given in combination with SBRT to part of a pleural-based lesion in patients with unresectable MPM. This study will recruit up to 18 patients whose MPM has progressed beyond first-line of palliative chemotherapy, with a platinum-based doublet, and now requires further palliative systemic treatment, or have declined first-line palliative chemotherapy, however must have been considered suitable for a platinum doublet chemotherapy.

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