Researchers from China tried to determine whether immunotherapy or chemotherapy is better as a second line treatment option for relapsed pleural mesothelioma. There is no current standard therapy for people whose mesothelioma comes back, which makes it hard for doctors to make treatment decisions for patients. Mesothelioma is very aggressive, and no treatments are available that offer a cure for the disease. This makes it crucial for doctors to find better first and second line treatments for the cancer.
Mesothelioma is a rare and hard to treat cancer that affects the linings of certain areas of the body including the lungs, abdomen, heart, and testicles. It is usually caused by exposure to asbestos, a fibrous mineral that can release millions of microscopic fibers that once inhaled, become lodged in human tissue where they cannot be broken down or removed. Over time, the fibers cause DNA changes in cells, which then turn into cancer. The main treatment for mesothelioma is a combination of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. The treatment combination can be helpful but does not offer a cure for mesothelioma.
Immunotherapy is a promising type of treatment that helps the immune system fight cancer. It helps people with multiple types of cancer, but the treatment is not as useful for mesothelioma as a first line treatment. The researchers at Sichuan University tried to figure out what mesothelioma treatment works better as a second line treatment between chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Results from the study point to immunotherapy being slightly better at helping people live longer. Chemotherapy on the other hand shows that it is better at slowing down the growth of relapsed mesothelioma. Researchers concluded that more studies need to be performed on chemotherapy and immunotherapy for mesothelioma to determine what treatment is best for relapsed mesothelioma.
This study highlights the need for studies and treatments that look at mesothelioma. With mesothelioma being a hard cancer to treat, options are limited. If more studies are performed on mesothelioma, researchers could one day find a cure or could at least extend the survival past what is currently available for patients. If doctors and researchers keep working together, mesothelioma might not be a serious disease one day.
