The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA is looking for Mesothelioma patients to take part in a clinical trial that will study the results of a combination of chemotherapy (consisting of gemcitabine and cisplatin) administered in the operating room as well as put into the chest and abdomen for one hour.

The study also hopes to determine the effects of heating the chemotherapy to 42 degrees Celsius and how cytoprotection agents amifostine and sodium thiosulfate counteract potential side effects of the chemotherapy. In addition to the chemotherapy there will be surgery including resection of the lung and lung lining, the covering of the heart and the muscle between the chest and the abdomen.

The Mesothelioma study is planned to be completed in 2010.

If you are interested in the clinical trial you can contact the hospital to see if you are eligible.

The company Alfacell has created a chemotherapy drug called Onconase. Onconase was recently used in a clinical trial for the treatment of Malignant Mesothelioma.

Unfortunately, Onconase did not meet Alfacell’s predictions for patient survival, it did achieve an overall survival of 10.5 months for the patients involved who had originally not responded to traditional chemotherapy.

Alfacell is confident that the drug Onconase can be used as a secondary treatment for patients with Mesothelioma, and hope in the future that the drug can be used to treat other types of cancer as well.

Radiation therapy can be used to treat Mesothelioma. The radiation therapy can be directed to a limited area of the body in order to only affect where the Mesothelioma cancer cells are. This can be helpful in order to reduce the Mesothelioma cells before surgery to shrink the cells, or after a surgery in order to kill any remaining cancer cells in the body.

Sometimes if the Mesothelioma cells are too big, but surgury cannot be performed yet, an individual may use radiation in order to relieve their difficulties breathing because of the enlarged cancer cells pushing against their organs.

Mesothelioma Radiation therapy is often necessary 5 days a week for several weeks. Types of radiation therapy include External Radiation Therapy and Internal Radiation Therapy. The type of radiation decided upon by the doctor depends on the stage the cancer is in.

External Radiation Therapy: This type of radiation therapy uses a machine outside of the individuals body in order to send radiation in the direction of the cancer.

Internal Radiation Therapy: This type of radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance which is injected into the individuals body near the cancer cells.

As with all radiation therapy there can be side effects from the Mesothelioma Radiation Therapy. Side effects can include:

- A dry throat
- A sore throat
- Having a hard time swallowing
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Skin changes at the area of the treatment
- Headaches
- Hair loss
- Memory problems