Chemotherapy is a treatment in which doctors use drugs on patients which kills the cancer cells. Chemotherapy for mesothelioma can be used in different situations such as
1) To minimize the tumor before surgery
2) To kill remaining cancer cells after surgery
3) To kill cancer tumor that recurs
4) To use on patients who are not surgical candidates.
Chemotherapy is being continually developed by the researchers. Good news for the mesothelioma patients is that, there is considerable progress is the systematic treatment of this disease in last few years. Pemetrexed is seen as the most promising drug to treat mesothelioma. This is an inhibitor of proteins including thymidylate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase which are required in synthesis of DNA.
Chemotherapy drugs are often used in combination of others and this process is called combination therapy. When cancer occurs, bad cells in the body keep growing as exponential rate and the anticancer drugs can help the bad cells keep in control and during the process good cells may also get damaged which is the main reason for side effects. The cells most likely to be affected are the fast-growing normal cells such as the blood cells forming in bone marrow, and cells in the digestive tract which includes the mouth, stomach, intestines, and esophagus. Hair follicles may also be affected, hence, hair loss during chemotherapy. Some drugs affect cells of vital organs, such as the heart, kidney, bladder, lungs, and nervous system.
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Showing posts with label Symptoms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Symptoms. Show all posts
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Chemotherapy for Mesothelioma
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Signs and symptoms of Mesothelioma
Symptoms of mesothelioma are hard to confirm and more over they may not appear until 15-30 years after exposure to asbestos. Common symptoms of mesothelioma are
1) Shortness of breath
2) Pain in chest etc
3) Anemia
4) Fatigue
5) Hoarseness
6) Cough
7) Blood in sputum coughed up
Symptoms also include weight loss, abdominal swelling etc. In very severe cases, the person may have tumor masses. As such mesothelioma is hard to diagnose. Helen Davies, specialist registrar and research fellow at Oxford says, "Pleural effusion, or the accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity, can be maddeningly difficult to diagnose as a wide variety of malignant and benign causes exist". One of the causes, malignant pleural mesothelioma, is a relatively rare cancer, but its incidence is rapidly increasing on a global scale.
The first test for mesothelioma in patients with a pleural effusion is pleural fluid cytology, but it is not very sensitive. Obtaining a prompt diagnosis of mesothelioma has benefits for patients and physicians alike. Because mesothelioma has a median survival time of 12 months, minimizing the number of invasive procedures and tests patients require is crucial to reduce morbidity and the time they need to spend in hospital, says Davies. An earlier diagnosis also allows speedier interventions to relieve symptoms as well as initiation of other treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy if appropriate.
Exposure to asbestos is the main risk factor and accounts for the majority of mesothelioma cases. Legislation to prevent occupational exposure to asbestos has been enforced in the developed world; however, unrestricted contact continues in developing countries.
Over 90 percent of patients with mesothelioma present with a pleural effusion and its incidence is predicted to peak within the next two decades. Mesothelioma treatment is one of the highly researched activities in medicine.
1) Shortness of breath
2) Pain in chest etc
3) Anemia
4) Fatigue
5) Hoarseness
6) Cough
7) Blood in sputum coughed up
Symptoms also include weight loss, abdominal swelling etc. In very severe cases, the person may have tumor masses. As such mesothelioma is hard to diagnose. Helen Davies, specialist registrar and research fellow at Oxford says, "Pleural effusion, or the accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity, can be maddeningly difficult to diagnose as a wide variety of malignant and benign causes exist". One of the causes, malignant pleural mesothelioma, is a relatively rare cancer, but its incidence is rapidly increasing on a global scale.
The first test for mesothelioma in patients with a pleural effusion is pleural fluid cytology, but it is not very sensitive. Obtaining a prompt diagnosis of mesothelioma has benefits for patients and physicians alike. Because mesothelioma has a median survival time of 12 months, minimizing the number of invasive procedures and tests patients require is crucial to reduce morbidity and the time they need to spend in hospital, says Davies. An earlier diagnosis also allows speedier interventions to relieve symptoms as well as initiation of other treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy if appropriate.
Exposure to asbestos is the main risk factor and accounts for the majority of mesothelioma cases. Legislation to prevent occupational exposure to asbestos has been enforced in the developed world; however, unrestricted contact continues in developing countries.
Over 90 percent of patients with mesothelioma present with a pleural effusion and its incidence is predicted to peak within the next two decades. Mesothelioma treatment is one of the highly researched activities in medicine.
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