Pleural Mesothelioma

Chemotherapy is not effective for treating patients with asbestos-related cancer, say British scientists.

Malignant mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos, a mineral that was commonly used as building material-is often incurable.

But some experts thought that chemotherapy could help prolong patients’ lives and improve their quality of life.

However, new research published in the medical journal The Lancet, found no benefit with this treatment.

Exhibition

Asbestos is a group of minerals that occur naturally in the environment. Due to its characteristics of strength and flexibility, this material was commonly used in various applications, mainly in construction.

However, when breathed, asbestos fibers can lodge and accumulate in the lungs and cause injuries and diseases such as mesothelioma.

Currently there are laws around the world to control the use of asbestos, but thousands of people die each year because the symptoms can appear up to 50 years after exposure.

According to experts, these decades of delay between exposure and onset of the disease means that cases continue to rise over the next five years.

The study, conducted by the Medical Research Council UK, analyzed the cases of 409 patients, mainly in the country which had received the standard treatment for mesothelioma.

This usually includes steroid drugs and radiotherapy sessions. Some patients in study received additional doses of chemotherapy to compare the effect of his illness.

Real benefit

According to the researchers, patients who received chemotherapy lived an average of slightly more than those who received standard treatment.

But this, scientists say, not a statistical test and can be misleading.
Moreover, they add, chemotherapy did not improve quality of life of these patients.

“Thousands of people are or will be affected by this deadly disease, and our study shows how difficult it is to treat mesothelioma,” said Dr Richard Stephens from the Medical Research Council.

“This is mainly because mesothelioma forms in the pleura, the lung lining layer, which is very difficult to achieve,” he adds.

The results of the study, the researchers explain, show that you get no real benefit in the treatment of disease symptoms when added to standard chemotherapy drugs.

It is known that chemotherapy also have serious effects.

Tags: asbestos fibers, cause injuries and diseases, chemotherapy, standard chemotherapy drugs, standard treatment for mesothelioma