Study Reveals Significant Benefit for Mesothelioma Patients from Novel Chemotherapy Treatment

This year’s Society of Interventional Radiology’s Annual Scientific Meeting may have had to be held virtually, but the information delivered for mesothelioma patients was very real and very significant. Speaking to the group about their novel treatment for advanced mesothelioma, Bela Kis, M.D., PhD of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa revealed an extended survival time and improved quality of life for patients previously identified as having limited or no treatment options remaining to them.

Transarterial Chemoperfusion Treatment Seen as Highly Beneficial

The treatment was described by Dr. Kis, the study’s principal investigator, as offering mesothelioma patients the ability to live longer, “giving them more time with friends and family.” The protocol offers the benefit of both effectiveness and minimal side effects, in large part because it is delivered in such a targeted manner rather than intravenously.

Where the typical chemotherapy offered to mesothelioma patients is administered via I.V. and therefore affects the entire body, the transarterial chemoperfusion is administered by injection. One third of the medication is injected into the internal mammary artery that supplies the affected pleura, and the rest is injected into the descending aorta so that it then enters the intercostal vessels, which also supply the affected organ. The procedure takes one hour of outpatient treatment and another hour for recovery.

Study Yielded 70.3 Percent Disease Control Rate for Mesothelioma Patients

The study that was conducted by the interventional radiology department at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida involved twenty-seven patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. All had previously received chemotherapy at least once, while several had also undergone radiation therapy and/or pleurectomy. All were showing signs of continuous disease progression. 

Importantly, the mesothelioma patients who had the procedure showed only minimal side effects, which largely consisted of mild nausea and chest pain. Remarking on the results, Dr. Kis said, “We were pleasantly surprised to find that this treatment doesn’t come with the same side effects of traditional intravenous chemotherapy. To see these promising results with so few side effects means we are able to make a positive impact on quality of life for these patients.”

If you have been diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, study results like this offer the hope of extended survival. For more information, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net at 1-800-692-8608.

Written by Terri Oppenheimer

Terri Heimann Oppenheimer is the head writer of our Mesothelioma.net news blog. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in English. Terri believes that knowledge is power and she is committed to sharing news about the impact of mesothelioma, the latest research and medical breakthroughs, and victims’ stories.

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