Medications are often included in treatment plans when chemotherapy alone is used. There are also a wide variety of therapy options for malignant mesothelioma, including chemotherapy alone, cisplatin plus gemcitabine or ifosfamide plus paclitaxel. Survival is generally dependent on the extent of symptoms and the stage of the tumor at diagnosis.
Even though it has long been known that it is a chronic disease, Mesothelioma can be cured. This information is valuable to patients and their families.
Mesothelioma, malignant is a cancer of the mesothelium (a type of surface covering of most organs) and it affects about 1% of men over 45 years of age. Diagnosis is confirmed after surgery or via a biopsy is performed. It is often difficult to determine the correct diagnosis of pleural cancer without a pleural mass. A mass may be the only symptom and is usually discovered in patients with a history of pleural trauma. It can present as chest pain, cough and shortness of breath. It is important to recognise mesothelioma and to find early treatment with chemotherapy which may slow disease progression and improve survival. Treatment is often complex, requiring intensive chemotherapy.
Mesothelioma cases diagnosed in 2007 were estimated to have resulted in about 8,200 deaths annually in the US. The age-sex distribution of mesothelioma cases will continue to be age and sex structured as the age-adjusted age and sex standard population change.
Results from a recent clinical trial raise questions concerning whether the carcinogenic factor(s) are in or outside the asbestos fibers and whether the cause can be an inherited or acquired genetic disposition.
Mucin, non-serpentine type, in an asymptomatic patient is usually a sign of malignant mesothelioma, malignant. The presence of these crystals in patients with symptomatic pleural masses or masses at other locations is not specific.
Clinically-driven trials to date appear to provide some long-term survival benefit to the subset of patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy (i.e. surgery plus chemoradiation or chemotherapy plus radiotherapy). Thus, such clinical trials could be reconsidered and possibly expanded towards non-neoadjuvant malignancies when there is evidence of prolonged survival following these treatments. However, in this setting, a more conservative approach incorporating a randomized trial in the neoadjuvant setting is probably warranted.
Methoxyamine may have a role in chemotherapy in selected instances; the data must be interpreted cautiously and the drug must receive further investigation before being recommended.
Mesothelioma, malignant has a rarity in the Caucasian population, but a relatively high incidence in the Black population, but this appears to be associated with asbestos exposure. A large family of the disease has been described in Italy and might be attributable to the occupational exposure to asbestos of the mining and construction workers in the town of Nardò, and to the proximity of the Italian Alps.
Common side effects from methoxyamine therapy include gastrointestinal disturbances, including diarrhea and nausea, facial flushing, abdominal pain, or vomiting. Less common side effects include tachycardia, arrhythmia, hypotension, hyperbilirubinemia, anesthetic requirements, alopecia, acne, and hepatotoxicity. Severe reactions are comparatively rare but may be triggered by certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and certain medications; these reactions may sometimes be fatal. These side effects are more likely to occur in patients who are taking methoxyamine therapy for the treatment of endometriosis or adenomyosis. Patients with severe renal disease may also be at heightened risk for adverse effects.
These data strongly suggest that the routine use of Methoxyamine in combination with XRT and/or chemotherapy is not indicated in these patients. However, it is recommended that clinicians consider Methoxyamine use in patients with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis who are not candidates for further treatment, and as a salvage therapy in advanced disease or as first-line therapy.
The mesothelioma treatment revolution did not occur for a few reasons, and [further] research is needed to improve treatment outcomes. As of 2009, the only cure is surgery. Patients have high rates of mortality after surgery, and [patients have] not benefitted much from recent surgical advancements.