Asbestos Cancer Treatment

Asbestos cancer treatment options typically include some combination surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation

Depending on the location of the cancer, generally asbestos related malignancies can be difficult to resect because the latency period over which the cancer goes undetected can often extend into the time period where the tumor develops through its preliminary stages. Later stage cancers, and particularly those related to asbestos, will often not be resectable malignancies. While diagnosis of early stage asbestos cancer is uncommon, certainly those eligible for surgical removal will often have the cancer resected. Adjuvant chemotherapy is often administered after surgery to complement the resection.
Pleurectomy and Extrapleural pneumonectomy, both extensive surgeries, are often used in the treatment of pleural asbestos cancer. Surgery is much less common in malignant peritoneal and pericardial cancer, as the origin of the tumor is difficult to access without endangering the survival of the patient.
Chemotherapy is the most frequently utilized treatment mechanism for the control of asbestos cancer. Drugs like Alimta, Cisplatin, and Gemcitabine have all been used with varying degrees of efficacy to halt or slow the spread of malignant mesothelioma and lung carcinomas. Ongoing clinical trials continue to test new drugs and drug cocktails for the management and treatment of asbestos cancer. Recent trends suggest that researchers are making strides in determining approved treatment regimens not only for malignant pleural mesothelioma, but also peritoneal and pericardial cancers.
Currently, the only FDA-approved chemotherapy regimen for the asbestos cancer malignant pleural mesothelioma is a combination of Alimta and Cisplatin, delivered intravenously, with 21 days between each subsequent injection. Asbestos lung cancer carcinomas are also treatable with chemotherapy. Because asbestos cancer incidence of this type is much more prevalent (and not necessarily directly attributable to asbestos exposure), there are many more chemotherapy options available to patients.
External beam radiation is popular among patients receiving treatment for pleural and peritoneal cancer. Pericardial cancer patients may also utilize radiation in the control of their cancer, but in lower dosages considering the region's proximity to the heart. Radiation therapy is considered useful for palliation as well to prevent malignant cells from taking hold again following surgery.
As part of developing studies into the control of asbestos cancer through radiotherapy, researchers have begun utilizing brachytherapy to control mesothelioma tumor spread and growth. Brachytherapy is an internal radiation source implanted in the affected area which has shown promise in clinical studies in reducing tumor mass and slowing. Every year, survival rates are extended further and more funding is now being invested in research to evaluate new options for treatment. Researchers hope to, one day, find a cure for mesothelioma.

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