Treatment for mesothelioma

Treatment for mesothelioma depends on the location of the tumor, stage of disease and patient 's age and general health. Standard treatment options include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Sometimes, these treatments are combined.

The surgery is a treatment for mesothelioma.
The doctor mayremove a section of the wall of the chest or abdomen and some tissue around it. For cancer of the pleura (pleural mesothelioma), a lung may be removed in operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes, part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also deleted.

Radiation therapy
Also called radiotherapy, involves the use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and reduce tumors. Radiation therapy affects the cancer cells in the treated area. Radiation may come from a machine (external radiation) or to materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes in the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy).

Chemotherapy
is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells in the body. Most drugs used to treat mesothelioma are given by injection into a vein (intravenously or IV). Doctors are also studying the effectiveness of putting chemotherapy directly into the chest or abdomen (intracavitary chemotherapy).

To relieve symptoms and control pain, the doctor in may using a needle or a thin tube to drain fluid that has accumulated in the chest or abdomen. The procedure for the removal of the breast fluid is called thoracentesis. Withdrawal of fluid in the abdomen is called paracentesis. Drugs may be given through a tube in his chest to prevent the accumulation of fluid. Radiotherapy and surgery in also useful in relieving symptoms.

www.cancer.gov