Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
Researchers at the University of Paris have discovered that a combination of spiral CT-scanning technology and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), known as helical tomotherapy (HT), is more advantageous than other radiation methods when it comes to treating mesothelioma after surgery. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen that is caused almost exclusively by prolonged asbestos exposure and is very difficult to treat.
Helical tomotherapy offers enhanced precision and allows oncologists to specify the radiation dose to the size and shape of the targeted tumor. Mesothelioma tumors tend to be irregular in shape and spread across large sections of the mesothelium, making it very difficult for doctors to administer mesothelioma radiation without killing large numbers of healthy cells.
The French researchers studied the treatment outcomes of 14 patients with pleural mesothelioma – which specifically affects the lungs – who had undergone HT after receiving extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery. Two of the patients experienced lung inflammation, known as radiation pneumonitis, but the HT was well tolerated in the majority of the patients.
After treatment, the mesothelioma returned an average of 5.1 months later in six patients, three of whom died shortly after relapsing. The other eight survived longer than expected, as most mesothelioma patients live no longer than about six months past diagnosis. The median survival of all the study participants was 18.4 months after diagnosis, and patients treated later in the study tended to fair better than those treated earlier, an effect attributed to the optimization of dosing parameters among the doctors administering the radiation.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 at 2:13 pm and is filed under News.
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