Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Japanese researchers at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tokyo women’s University have proposed that concurrent chemoradiotherapy is not only a valid form of treatment of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, but that it has provided excellent results in at least one case where the patient has survived for at least six years after diagnosis.  That’s six times longer than the average lifespan of a peritoneal mesothelioma victim after diagnosis.  And the patient in question remains cancer-free.  Could this method of combined treatment provide the best results for peritoneal mesothelioma patients?

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that causes tumor growth throughout the abdominal cavity and can even affect the chest wall, internal organs, and more.  The disease is caused by asbestos fibers that are inhaled or ingested and then get caught in the soft tissues of the peritoneum that surround the vital organs and line the interior of the abdominal wall. 

Usually patients diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma are given roughly a year to live at the time of diagnosis, with the average lifespan roughly 12.5 months.  Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is very difficult to treat because tumors often spread throughout the abdomen affecting reproductive organs, the greater omentum, and even more before metastasis. 

The patient in the Japanese study is a 21-year old woman who underwent emergency surgery and partial resection of the peritoneum.  The tumor was biopsied and tests confirmed it to be epithelioid mesothelioma.  The woman was then treated using CAP therapy – administration of a combination of chemotherapy drugs including cyclophosphamide adriamycine cisplatin and CPT-11.

She was then transferred to another hospital where surgical oncologists removed more of her cancerous tissue and treated her with six courses of paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy.

However, twelve months after her initial treatment the woman relapsed and doctors discovered her mesothelioma had recurred.  This time the mesothelioma had invaded her pelvic wall and surgical attempts to remove the tumor failed.  Running out of options, oncologists suggested concurrent chemo-radiotherapy weekly with cisplatin. 

Chemoradiotherapy is the combination of traditional chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  Normally radiation treatments are given after chemotherapy, however some research has pointed to concurrent treatments being more effective on certain types of cancers, as it proved to be in this case.  Over the course of her treatment, the woman’s tumor shrunk gradually and after six months completely disappeared. 

This was a huge victory for doctors as mesothelioma, especially when inoperable, is often extremely aggressive and swiftly fatal.  However, it appears that this woman’s treatment was effective in completely removing her tumor.  In fact, she has been cancer-free for six years since and is currently alive and well.

Some mesothelioma patients are fortunate enough to undergo prolonged periods during which no asbestos cancer is noticed.  As with all cancer patients, the woman in this study continues to be monitored regularly and her mesothelioma doctors are poised to attack her disease once more should it recur.