When it comes to malignant mesothelioma, new research is always in progress as medical professionals and scientists struggle to figure out a way to help patients survive this deadly form of cancer. To date, there is no cure, but life expectancy is now greater than it’s been in the past in many cases.

Unfortunately, you can’t cure malignant mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer. To compound the problem, doctors usually don’t detect it until it reaches the advanced stages, when you won’t have much life expectancy left. In some cases, the symptoms don’t show up until 20 to 50 years after the first exposure. New advanced treatments like immunotherapy improve the prognosis. 

Clinical Trials

All mesothelioma patients should consider clinical trials because it can further develop research in this field. The clinical trial may not help you, but it can contribute to mesothelioma research that could one day help other patients and families in your same dire situation. 

Most doctors consider clinical trials the most promising treatment for patients because of the low survival rate of patients with mesothelioma. By participating in a trial, you can access treatments that may be experimental but often have exciting results. 

New Treatments Available

Medical research has developed several promising drugs to aid in the fight against mesothelioma. They have developed treatments like radiation therapy, gene therapy, and immunotherapy. Let’s have a look at three promising new therapies.

Radiation Therapy

While radiation therapy was first invented in 1895, the treatments have become more and more advanced through trial and error. Mesothelioma tends to be difficult to treat with radiation because of the difficulty aiming the radiation at scattered cancer cells. Non-invasive radiology has become one of the newer advancements.

 

Gene Therapy

Doctors have turned to gene therapy to prevent the spread of mesothelioma to other parts of the body. Gene therapy hopes to achieve enhancement of the healthy cells to kill off malignant cells. 

From a phase II trial, researchers learned how they had the control rate at 87.5 percent for patients who hadn’t responded to chemotherapy. Researchers have begun a study to learn what changes the genetics into mesothelioma. They have learned how one key to early detection could come from using blood markers.

Immunotherapy

Built to stimulate the patient’s immune system, medical researchers have found immunotherapy successful in treating other forms of cancer. They have begun clinical trials for immunotherapy with mesothelioma. The therapy uses substances either found naturally in the body or from a laboratory. 

Research for a Cure

One of the most devastating cancers, mesothelioma has a five-year survival rate of only 10 percent. If diagnosed early, mesothelioma has a 20 percent five-year survival rate. 

Being a rare form of cancer has made it harder to research and diagnose. Some of the key mesothelioma research centers across the nation include:

• The Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center
• Shukla Research Lab
• National Institutes of Health
• Brigham and Women’s Hospital in partnership with Harvard Medical School

Going to one of these treatment centers for mesothelioma could increase your chances of survival because they know how to deal with the cancer better. It doesn’t guarantee anything, but you have the best chances of a good outcome. Don’t see a general doctor for mesothelioma. You need to seek a specialist who has expertise in this field. 

If you or someone you love was exposed to asbestos and developed mesothelioma, you should speak with an attorney. You can follow this link for a consultation with a mesothelioma lawyer who can tell you more about your legal options. 

An attorney can expedite compensation for mesothelioma so you will have the best shot of recovering a settlement before the time you have left with your loved ones is up. Getting compensation to a patient depends on handling the legal case in a timely fashion. 

Out of all the people who were heavily exposed to asbestos, between two and 10 percent will develop mesothelioma. Research for mesothelioma has advanced in the last decade, but it remains difficult to treat as this rare cancer doesn’t respond to conventional treatments. 

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