Chemotherapy involves using anticancer drugs that act by preventing cancer cells from multiplying. In most cases, combinations of drugs are used to increase efficiency. Chemotherapy can be used aggressively to reduce the tumor or palliative to relieve symptoms such as breathlessness or pain. Chemotherapy can be administered by injection into a vein or muscle, ingestion, or can sometimes be administered directly into the pleural or peritoneal cavity.

The drugs most commonly used are:

* Pemetrexed (Alimta)
* Cisplatin (Platinol)
* Carboplatin (Paraplatin)
* Gemcitabine (Gemzar)
* Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)
Mitomycin *
* Raltitrexed (Tomudex)
* Vinorelbine (Navelbine)

New drugs are constantly being studied by pharmaceutical companies, so feel free to check with your doctor about the drugs most recent and most promising. One such drug, Alimta (pemetrexed) has been approved in Europe in September 2005.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy involves using high X-ray energy to kill cancer cells and reduce tumors. It can be used in conjunction with surgery to help remove microscopic aggressively seeding can cause recurrence of disease or for palliative treatment of pain caused by tumors that compress the nerve endings or other organ. Radiation therapy has also proved effective in preventing tumor seeding from biopsy sites or tube drainage of the chest.

Clinical Trials

The purpose of clinical trials is to involve patients in discovering new and better treatments for their disease. Various clinical trials have different objectives which may include testing of new drugs, by comparing various ways of treating a disease or test several ways to prevent cancer. Clinical trials are divided into three phases. Short summaries of what each phase of the test seeks to achieve are outlined below.

The Phase I are those of the earlier phase in the system of clinical trials. At this point, drugs were only tested in the laboratory, but have had a destructive effect on cancer cells. These tests n’enrôlent a limited number of participants, and are only available in few institutions cancer. The objective of Phase I trials are to determine the maximum tolerated dose of the drug without causing serious side effects what side effects are more common, and the drug continues to have anticancer activity when administered to humans . If the drug showed an effect on cancer at a safe dosage, the drug is then tested in Phase II trials.

The essays Phase II continue to test the safety of medications or procedures, but also begin to examine more carefully their particular effectiveness for certain types of cancer. These tests include larger numbers of participants, and can be dispersed over several institutions. These tests may be “randomized”, ie different groups of participants are chosen by computer, rather than by a physician.

The Phase III trials compare new drugs or procedures promising to current standard treatment. Large numbers of participants from widely scattered regions involved in these tests, and receive either the new treatment is the standard treatment. One of the primary objectives of Phase III trials is to determine if the cancer is reduced or slowed by drugs, how long patients remain stable without progression of the disease and how drug treatment affects quality of life of patients.

If you are interested to participate in a clinical trial for mesothelioma, your doctor would be able to provide information on eligibility and availability in your area.