Radiation Treatment in Mesothelioma
The treatment of radiation may be a part of a pleural mesothelioma patients treatment plan. It can reduce the chances that cancer will recur after surgery.
Radiation therapy uses radio waves that ionize and damage DNA within cells, killing them. It can be administered prior to or after surgery.
Doctors often combine it chemotherapy to boost the effectiveness of surgical procedures. It also helps reduce symptoms such as breath shortness by shrinking tumors.
External beam radiation therapy (EBRT)
The treatment involves x-rays, or particles that come from a machine outside the body to kill cancer cells. It can be utilized prior to or after surgery, chemotherapy, or both to eliminate cancerous cells in the affected area. It can also be utilized as a treatment for palliative care to relieve symptoms like breathing problems. Mesotheliomas don't grow as single distinct tumors, and therefore it's difficult to target radiation at them while sparing healthy tissue. Newer techniques are helping to overcome this issue.
Radiation experts create detailed pictures using a computer of the tumor and healthy tissues nearby. These images assist them in deciding how much radiation to apply and the direction it should be directed. This information is used by a massive machine to position the radiation beam on the tumor precisely. Most types of EBRT require treatment five days a week for weeks, although some patients need only a few treatments. Each session is between 15 and 30 minutes. However, the majority of time is spent in preparing the patient for the treatment.
treatment for mesothelioma in the lungs of EBRT that is used for mesothelioma varies on the location of the tumor and the health of the patient. It can be a standard EBRT called three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) or a more advanced technique such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). In certain instances, it could be combined with a specialized treatment method like stereotactic radiation therapy for larger tumors, or with other treatment methods such as intraoperative radiation treatment for smaller tumors that can't be treated surgically.
Proton beam radiation therapy is yet another option for radiation treatment. It involves aiming beams of particles such as protons or heliumions, at the tumor from various angles. This allows more precise targeting of the tumour site and reduces the risk of the damage to healthy tissues and organs in the vicinity. However proton beam radiation therapy is not widely used in Australia for mesothelioma.
Another type of radiation is intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) that is given alongside surgery to try and remove any mesothelioma which isn't able to be removed surgically. This is a simple procedure that takes just less than a few minutes to carry out.
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
For patients with pleural cancer, IMRT allows the doctor to treat the tumor, while protecting healthy tissue. The treatment utilizes a medical linear acceleration (LINAC) device which emits X-rays or photons to target the tumor. The machine rotates to allow the beam to be positioned at different angles, ensuring that all areas are treated. This allows the doctor to administer a higher dose to the tumor, while also protecting healthy tissues from being damaged.
IMRT is a method of Image-Guided Radiation Therapy, which assists the doctor in determining the exact site of the cancer. IGRT utilizes computerized imaging like CT scans or X-rays along with MRI scans if they are available to help the radiation oncologist locate mesothelioma and its surrounding areas precisely. Once the target area is located, the IMRT system can be used to create a customized treatment plan that precisely targets the mesothelioma.
The IMRT system also allows the doctor to tailor the treatment to each patient's unique anatomy which minimizes the side effects. Radiation oncologists typically provide patients with five daily IMRT treatments every week, for five to eight consecutive weeks. Each session lasts for between 15 to 30 minutes. The tiny amount of radiation given on a daily basis helps to reduce the damage to the body's normal tissues. It is important to remember also that a weekend break is usually required so that the healthy tissues of the body can recover.
The IMRT technique showed good results for patients with mesothelioma that affects the neck and head. It is especially useful for tumors that are located near radiosensitive structures like the parotid glands. As an earlier study demonstrated that IMRT can allow a large dose to be delivered to the cancer while sparing the neighbouring parotid gland. The parotid glands that were spared recovered to 63 percent of their pre-treatment levels as compared to only 3 percent recovery for patients who receive conventional radiation. This is an encouraging result however, further research is required. Large-scale trials with IMRT will be required to confirm the early findings.
Brachytherapy
If doctors can't remove a mesothelioma completely it is possible to shrink the tumor and reduce symptoms. Palliative treatment is what this is known as. Doctors use it in conjunction with other treatments like chemotherapy and neoadjuvant therapy to extend the lifespan of patients.
Radiation therapy makes use of x-rays from an equipment outside of the body to kill cancer cells. With the development of new techniques such as IMRT doctors can better concentrate on the region around the tumor and limit radiation damage to the surrounding tissues.
Radiotherapy can be used to eliminate cancerous cells in the body. In brachytherapy, doctors put an enclosed source of radioactive material near mesothelioma or in the vicinity of it. This is done via a catheter or an applicator. Doctors can deliver radiation doses using a device situated outside the body in order to target the source. This is referred to as external beam radiation therapy (EBRT).
Doctors can choose to use high-dose or pulsed dose radiation in the brachytherapy. For the former patients, they stay in the hospital and may receive 10-minute sessions every day for a period of 2 weeks. High-dose brachytherapy is not as common because it requires a bigger machine and longer exposure times.
Another form of brachytherapy makes use of protons instead of x-rays. Because they are physical particles, protons are not absorbed by the tissue as easily and can cause less damage to the surrounding areas. This kind of radiation however, is more costly and not as easily accessible as the x-rays.
The need for radiation therapy can last for a period of time or more in patients with mesothelioma. This can be difficult to endure. Patients should consult with their doctors about what adverse effects they could encounter during treatment. Patients should also ask their doctors for tips to minimize adverse effects.
As part of a multimodal treatment strategy mesothelioma patients can also benefit from immunotherapy and genetic therapy. Immunotherapy boosts your immune system. Mesothelioma sufferers who have already undergone chemotherapy can benefit from immunotherapies.
Researchers are also looking at other methods to improve outcomes of radiation treatments for mesothelioma. One way is to combine brachytherapy and immunotherapy, which involves injecting cells that are infused with the drug Yervoy into the chest cavity. This treatment has shown promise in clinical trials. Gene therapy is a different approach that involves replacing or repairing genes within the mesothelioma cells to suppress their growth or make them more susceptible to chemotherapies.
Radiation therapy after surgery
Radiation therapy isn't an effective treatment for mesothelioma however, it can significantly improve a patient's prognosis. When used in conjunction with other treatment options can shrink mesothelioma-related tumors and ease the discomfort and pain that cancer causes. It can also lessen the chance of mesothelioma cells spreading after surgery or following the removal of a lung tumor (known as seeding).
Each session lasts about 30 minutes. The treatment can be uncomfortable as the radiation oncologist and technicians require positioning the patient in a certain position and hold them in the right position.
Before the session begins patients should dress comfortably. Avoid wearing metal as it can affect the accuracy and precision of the equipment. Patients should also take small meals throughout the day to avoid nausea caused by the treatments.
Depending on a patient's condition depending on the patient's condition, they could receive either a conventional form of radiation or brachytherapy. During conventional radiation treatment doctors use an accelerator machine to deliver the radiation. This is the most common form of mesothelioma treatment. It is generally used to treat pleural mesothelioma, which occurs in the lung's lining.
Brachytherapy is a sophisticated treatment that makes use of an energy source that is placed inside the body. The implant can be permanently or temporarily put in. When a doctor inserts the implant into the patient, they should take care to ensure that the cancerous tissues are targeted and not the surrounding organs.
In some mesothelioma clinical studies, researchers are exploring the possibility of combining radiation therapy with surgical procedures for patients with mesothelioma resectable. One example is the SMART trial. This treatment plan for experimental purposes involves giving patients hemithoracic radiotherapy prior to they undergo extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). This combination of treatments permits doctors to provide patients with greater doses and decrease the chance of post-surgical seeding of mesothelioma.
Patients with mesothelioma can suffer a complete or partial remission. This means that the tumor size has decreased or disappeared completely. Some patients have been in remission for several years and have survived past their original prognosis.