Mesothelioma Treatment (Chemotherapy)

Chemotherapy including aggressive mesothelioma treatment by reducing the tumor cells and kill cancer cells through medicines are very strong. But the side effect is visible hair loss, fever and nausea and vomiting.
Chemotherapy is a treatment that is feared, because the side effects of chemotherapy that we often hear and see. Chemotherapy is one of the Mesothelioma treatment methods have advantages and disadvantages. Someone with mesothelioma in certain circumstances did not qualify to undergo surgery because of the general condition of the patient is not possible.

Mesothelioma Treatment Effectiveness

Chemotherapy is already common in mesothelioma treatment. The main goal of chemotherapy is to kill cancer cells and shrink the size of the tumor. Chemotherapy drugs can attack the cells that grow rapidly and cut the growth of cancer cells. When chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells, chemotherapy drugs also damage all cells in the body that have rapid growth. For example hair follicles that included rapid growth so easily damaged during the hair growth cells undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
Chemotherapy has benefits such as healing the symptoms and pain of mesothelioma with how to effectively shrink the tumor, and can reduce the risk of the spread of tumors to improve life expectancy. Treatment plan can vary depending on the type of mesothelioma you have. The peritoneal and pleural mesothelioma patients will receive different drugs.

Treatment Options

Old and type of treatment depends on several factors such as the type of cancer, stage, the patient's health. Chemotherapy drugs can be given by way of direct or systemic.

Method of Chemotherapy

There are two kinds of chemotherapy methods

Systemic

Chemotherapy drugs can be injected into a vein or through pills. Chemotherapy drugs will enter through the blood and spread throughout the body

Intrapleural or intraperitoneal

Chemotherapy drugs are given through a tube that leads directly to a cancer grows. Chemotherapy drugs are still able to circulate throughout the body but is concentrated at the cancer. Chemotherapy drugs are given regular doses depending on the patient's condition.

Mesothelioma Treatment Plan for chemotherapy.

Some plan that is used for chemotherapy are as follows:

Only chemotherapy

Treatment for cancer patients only chemotherapy.

Multimodal therapy

In this approach, chemotherapy can be combined with other treatments such as surgery and radiation therapy

Neoadjuvant

Chemotherapy were done before surgery to reduce tumor cell

Adjuvant

Chemotherapy is given after surgery to reduce the risk of tumor grows again

Palliative

Chemotherapy is useful to relieve pain and symptoms of mesothelioma. This method can be combined with radiation methods.

Drugs  for the treatment of mesothelioma

The following drugs are given in chemotherapy treatment. drugs given to one drug or a combination. If the patient is not strong then it will only be given one type only. The drug most commonly used for mesothelioma treatment is Alimta (pemetrexed) and cisplatin.

Most common chemotherapy drugs

-cisplatin
-gemcitabine
-alimta
-carboplatin
-onconase
-navelbine

Some other drugs are also given to patients with mesothelioma such as vinblastine, vincristine, methotrexate, mitomycin, doxorubicin, epirubicin, ifosfamide and cyclophosphamide.

Single agent and combination

Pada kemoterapi dikenal single agent dan kombinasi. 

Single agent

Single agent chemotherapy using an anti-cancer drug. after going through various trials, patients who undergo only a single agent menngalami low response or only 0-15 percent.

Combination

Chemotherapy combinations involving two or more drugs. a recent study showed positive results in patients with mesothelioma and this is a good development in mesothelioma treatment. the combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed is a combination of effective mesothelioma treatment.

Side effects

although chemotherapy mesothelioma is often used in conjunction with other treatments such as radiation therapy and surgery.

- Hair loss
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Loss of appetite
- Body aches
- Tingling in the feet and hands
- Anemia (Decrease of red blood cells)
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Compromised immune system
- rash
- Nausea and vomiting
- Lower platelet count

Treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma

Chemotherapy for peritoneal mesothelioma patients is different than the drug given to patients with pleural mesothelioma. The method used chemotherapy drugs directly entering the peritoneal cavity. but penetration in tumors are generally very low.
The study results show the drug delivery intraperitoneal chemotherapy drug uptake only a depth of several millimeters from the surface of the tumor. Therefore Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), also known as the heated chemotherapy. This method is expected to reduce pain and improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is one method of mesothelioma treatment besides surgery or radiation treatment. The success rate of chemotherapy was also heavily influenced by the overall condition of the patient. If the patient is weak, then the doctors will only provide one type of chemotherapy drugs or depending on the patient's condition. The stronger the body of the patient, the doctor can provide a more aggressive combination chemotherapy with better results. Chemotherapy combined with other mesothelioma treatments that can give better results.