Radiation Therapy Can Increase Mesothelioma Survival Time

Too many patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma are going without adjuvant radiotherapy that could extend their lives significantly, according to Dr. Bin Teh at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. Teh is the senior author of a recent study — the largest of its kind — that examined the role and extent of radiation therapy in the overall treatment of mesothelioma. He and his colleagues found only 3.1 percent of patients diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma underwent radiotherapy treatment in combination with aggressive surgery. “Surgery plus radiation improves overall survival,” Teh, vice chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Houston Methodist, told Asbestos.com. “I was surprised at how little it was used overall. I would really like to see more than 3 percent receiving this treatment safely.” National Cancer Database Numbers Their retrospective study was done by using the National Cancer Database (NCDB), a joint project of the American Cancer Society and the American College of Surgeons. It typically represents an estimated 70 percent of cancers nationwide. The study was published in the June issue of International Journal of Radiation Oncology. “The goal with radiation is to prevent disease from coming back after surgery,” Teh said. “With mesothelioma, it is really important to do it at a specialty center with experience.” Researchers went back more than two decades in the database to find 24,914 mesothelioma patients who met the inclusi...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news