Mesothelioma Patients - Immunotherapy, Photodynamic Therapy
New Mesothelioma Treatment Approaches
New approaches to treat malignant mesothelioma are currently being tested. They often combine traditional treatments or include something entirely new. They include:
- New Chemotherapy Agents and combinations of agents are generating improved results for mesothelioma patients. Read about new approaches in Malignant Mesothelioma: Focus on New Therapeutic Approaches, a summary of exciting new approaches in mesothelioma treatment.
- Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a type of cancer treatment based on the premise that single-celled organisms, if first treated with certain photosensitive drugs, will die when exposed to light at a particular frequency. PDT destroys cancerous cells by using this fixed frequency light to activate photosensitizing drugs which have accumulated in body tissues.
In PDT, a photosensitizing drug is administered intravenously. Within a specific time frame (usually a matter of days), the drug selectively concentrates in diseased cells, while rapidly being eliminated from normal cells. The treated cancer cells are then exposed to a laser light chosen for its ability to activate the photosensitizing agent. This laser light is delivered to the cancer site, (in the case of mesothelioma, the pleura), through a fiberoptic device that allows the laser light to be manipulated by the physician. As the agent in the treated cells absorbs the light, an active form of oxygen destroys the surrounding cancer cells. The light exposure must be carefully timed, so that it occurs when most of the photosensitizing drug has left the healthy cells, but is still present in cancerous ones.
The major side effect of PDT is skin sensitivity. Patients undergoing this type of therapy are usually advised to avoid direct and even indirect sunlight for at least six weeks. Other side effects may include nausea, vomiting, a metallic taste in the mouth, and eye sensitivity to light. These symptoms may sometimes come as a result of the injection of the photosensitizing agent. - Immunotherapy, sometimes called biological therapy, uses the body's own immune system to protect itself against disease. Researchers have found that the immune system may be able to recognize the difference between healthy cells and cancer cells, and eliminate those that become cancerous. Immunotherapy is designed to repair, stimulate, or enhance the immune system's natural anticancer function.
Substances used in immunotherapy, called biological response modifiers (BRMs) alter the interaction between the body's immune defenses and cancer, thereby improving the body's ability to fight disease. Some BRMs, such as cytokines and antibodies, occur naturally in the body, however, it is now possible to make BRMs in the laboratory that can imitate or influence natural immune response agents. These BRMs may:- Enhance the immune system to fight cancer cell growth.
- Eliminate, regulate, or suppress body responses that permit cancer growth.
- Make cancer cells more susceptible to destruction by the immune system.
- Alter cancer cell's growth patterns to behave like normal cells.
- Block or reverse the process that changes a normal cell into a cancer cell.
- Prevent a cancer cell from spreading to other sites.
© 2005 Paul, Hanley & Harley LLP.