When research and clinical trials are carried out it becomes easier to find mesothelioma treatments. There are continually different discoveries being made that can increase someone’s life after they find out that they are dealing with this type of cancer.

How Treatment Is Getting Better

Patients Are Living Longer – The amount of time that someone is living with this cancer has continued to increase over the last two decades.

International Effort – The research that is taking place is occurring all over the world and new discoveries are being made all of the time.

More Options – More and more options are developed all of the time and there are more now than there were 20 or 30 years ago.

The possible link between genetics and the development of mesothelioma is still under consideration in the research community. There is information in our cells that can determine when the cells are going to grow and how fast this will happen. That’s why having an understanding of the different mesothelioma cell types is important.

It has been discovered that cancer could be related to DNA because it may tell specific cells to grow or to stop and die.

In the last 20 years there have been a number of clinical trials that have made some promises when it comes to treatments. You will see that these efforts may even lead to a cure at some point in the future.

Gene Therapy

This type of therapy focuses on cancer cells. It is a relatively new type of therapy. New genes are added to the body and they can help to fix those that are considered to be broken.

“Suicide gene therapy” is when genetic material potentially makes the tumor weaker and allows the tumor to become more likely to respond to treatment that is given. This can help keep the cancer from spreading throughout the body.

Gene therapy can help get rid of the cells that are not healthy. Good genetic material is placed into the body so that it can attack the tumor.

Gene therapy isn’t always effective and it should not be the only method that someone considers when it comes to treatment. However, you will want to speak with a cancer specialist so that they can help you determine if this will work for you or not.

Dr. Daniel Sterman has said that he hopes professionals will be able to get mesothelioma “from a death sentence to a chronic disease that a patient can live with for years.”

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy can be used for those that are suffering from cancer in order to help make the body stronger. This is known as biotherapy and you will find that there is more than one approach.

One approach is called active immunotherapy and this is when medication is used to make the immune system stronger. Another approach is passive immunotherapy. This adds laboratory-created proteins that are created in a lab, they are added to the body and supplement what the body is lacking. It is being tested in clinical trials to see if it is effective, reliable and even repeatable.

There is a new drug called Avastin that will help with antibodies, it might also extend your life.  A large clinical trial was started in 2012 with immunotherapy. It has been started by The Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network (CITN).

The research that has been carried out is showing that this is a great form of treatment for those that have this type of cancer. A specific type of immunotherapy, called dendritic cell-based immunotherapy, is when cells are created outside of the body and put into the body. This could be an option for those that are suffering from cancer in the later stages.