New mesothelioma treatment research to determine if chemotherapy before surgery and radiation can prevent mesothelioma recurrence could provide a major step forward for the treatment of this rare cancer of the lining of the chest caused by exposure to asbestos.

This new mesothelioma treatment study is an attempt to build on previous clinical trials that have shown promise at M.D. Anderson which involved extra pleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery where the affected lung and lining of the chest are removed. This is followed by Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).

What is really unique about this new mesothelioma treatment study is the fact that this is the first trial to investigate the use of chemotherapy before surgery and radiation.

Results Of Previous Trials Of This New Mesothelioma Treatment

Previous trials of this new mesothelioma treatment involving extrapleural pneumonectomy and IMRT was 90 per cent effective in preventing a local recurrence in patients. However about half the patients who underwent the trials got a recurrence in a different location. Quite often, this was the other lung or another part of the body.

Researchers into this new mesothelioma treatment add that chemotherapy before surgery and radiation usually reduce the possibility of the cancer spreading to another area away from the original site.