SMART Procedure Doubles Survival Rate for Mesothelioma Patients

Treating pleural mesothelioma with high-dose radiation just before aggressive surgery, a reversal of the traditional procedure, can double the three-year survival rate, according to recently published clinical research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. The cancer center is the first in the world to study a significant number of patients using the Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy (SMART) and the approach is now the standard of care in Toronto. "I'm biased, and don't want to toot our own horn too loudly, but very few places have come close to the results we've seen here," radiation oncologist John Cho told Asbestos.com. "This is pretty significant. Our survival rate is remarkably good." Patients in the study experienced fewer post-surgery complications, a quicker recovery and a shorter treatment period. The study included 25 patients from 2008 to 2012. All underwent an accelerated five-day course of high dose, intensity-modulated radiation therapy. That was followed by an extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), an aggressive surgery that removes a patient's entire lung, the lining around it, pericardium and parts of the diaphragm. Several received adjuvant chemotherapy afterward, depending upon pathologic findings. The standard trimodality approach to mesothelioma treatment at most specialty centers involves chemotherapy first, followed by the EPP surgery and then radiation. Reversing the...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Treatment & Doctors Source Type: news