A study published in Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery investigated the inclusion of photodynamic therapy in multimodality treatment for mesothelioma cancer.
Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that rarely responds to current treatment methods. Caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure, mesothelioma rarely responds to treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. When these mesothelioma treatments are combined into a multimodality approach some extension in survival rates has been observed in certain mesothelioma patients, encouraging further research into multimodality treatment.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) of the pleura is in an experimental phase and aims to eliminate remaining microscopic cancerous tissue after complete surgical removal of the mesothelioma tumor by means of intracavitary administration.
A treatment based on light, PDT involved three elements; a nontoxic photosensitizing compound, oxygen and visible light. The treatment is FDA-approved for several forms of cancer, but is still in the experimental stage for malignant pleural mesothelioma.
This type of therapy can be united with a pleurectomy and decortication surgery and can be performed with other treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation. Another benefit to PDT is that it appears to improve an immunologic effect by making the treated cancer cells more ‘visible’ to the immune system.
PDT could be an important treatment option for mesothelioma patients following surgery since the growth of mesothelioma tumors does not allow for 100 percent resection of all cancerous cells.
Based upon the data, researchers found, “PDT is an effective light-based cancer treatment that can be combined with surgery as a treatment for mesothelioma. The small, but real, depth of penetration of the treatment has allowed the technique for achieving a macroscopic complete resection to evolve to a state where natural barriers and functional structures can be preserved. Studies are under way to further evaluate the merit of this approach. In addition, we are actively engaged in research aimed at capitalizing on the unique attributes of PDT as well as overcoming some of the inherent limitations.”
Additional information on mesothelioma may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.
