Peritoneal Mesothelioma Treatment

Peritoneal mesothelioma is one type of malignant mesothelioma, the other types being pleural mesothlioma, pericardial mesothelioma and testicular mesothelioma.

Peritoneal mesothelioma assaults the membranous lining of the abdomen, called the peritoneum. Ten to twenty percent of all malignant mesothelioma cases are peritoneal mesothelioma. Like all malignant mesothelioma cancers, peritoneal mesothelioma is caused by exposure to deadly asbestos fibers. it is thought to create when victims breathe in the little fibers, and then cough them up and swallow them. The minute fibers may also be ingested with food or drink, or they may be inhaled and wind up in the abdomen by the lymphatic method. The asbestos fibers stick to the lining and become lodged between the cells that make up the lining of the abdomen. Malignant mesothelioma develops slowly over decades and is usually discovered in its late stages, which limits treatment options.

Treatment options include surgical procedure, chemotherapy, and radiation, alone or in any combination. Because there is no effective early detection screening procedure and peritoneal mesothelioma is difficult to identify until the tumors grow massive enough to cause discomfort or water the abdomen with liquid, it is never diagnosed early enough to cure. However, recent research focused on early detection using blood markers is encouraging. they may see blood screenings for early detection of malignant mesothelioma in a few years.

Types of Peritoneal Mesothelioma Surgery

two types of surgical procedure are used in the diagnosis and treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma.

Biopsy is a procedure often used to confirm the diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma. it is a non-invasive surgical procedure where a surgeon makes use of a long, narrow needle to scrape out cells from the affected area for testing.
Removing as much cancerous tissue as possible is called healing surgical procedure. Recent advances in healing surgical procedure merge heated chemotherapy drugs introduced to the abdominal cavity immediately after surgical procedure to kill any remaining cancer.Palliative peritoneal surgical procedure is used to relieve pain and other symptoms.


Surgery

in the work of a fine needle aspiration, or laparoscopy, the oncology surgeon inserts a narrow needle in to the abdominal area where cancer is suspected and nips a little sample of tissue for testing.

Several biopsy procedures may be used to confirm a diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma and determine the extent of the disease.

there's five linings that make up the peritoneum, called the visceral and parietal peritoneum. The visceral peritoneum protects the internal organs and the intestinal tract. The parietal peritoneum covers the abdominal cavity. The cells that make up these linings secret a liquid that lubricates the organs, allowing free movement without friction, much like oil lubricates the moving parts of an automobile. Cancerous cells from peritoneal mesothelioma cause cells to overproduce, flooding the abdominal cavity with liquid. Oncologists use a long needle attached to tubing with a bag at the finish to drain the liquid. This procedure serves five purposes. It relieves the pressure of the excess liquid to make the patient more comfortable, and the liquid is analyzed to add to the physician’s store of knowledge about the patient’s condition. This procedure is called an adoparacentesis or peritoneal aspiration.

Peritonectomy

If the results of the needle aspiration are inconclusive, the surgeon may perform a peritoneoscopy. A local anesthetic is run for this procedure, and then the surgeon makes a little incision and inserts a device called a peritoneoscope that lets him see inside the abdomen with a light also a little camera attached to flexible tubing. A tissue sample is often collected in the work of this exploration. In some cases, a more invasive biopsy is called for, and the surgeon may make a bigger incision to collect additional tissue.

If peritoneal mesothelioma is detected early, a peritonectomy may be performed. This surgical procedure involves removing all or part of the diseased peritoneum. This is often combined with intraperitoneal hypothermic perfusion or bathing the abdominal cavity with heated chemotherapy immediately following surgical procedure to kill any remaining cancer.


Cytoreductive surgical procedure, also called debulking, is used to remove only the cancerous tissues and tumors. The surgeon opens a massive incision in the patient’s abdomen and carefully removes the visible infected cells, then often follows the procedure with intraperitoneal hypothermic perfusion.

Chemotherapy refers to chemical treatments designed to kill cells and may take the kind of pills, injections, intravenous treatments or delivered directly in to the body cavity in the work of surgical procedure. Chemotherapy has many disagreeable side effects and is not suitable for patients already in poor health.

Not every patient is a candidate for surgical procedure. The cancer has to be in the early stages so that enough healthy tissue remains to allow the body to function, and the patient has to be strong enough to resist the procedure before it can be thought about.

Chemotherapy

It is important for patients to be honest about prescriptions, vitamins, supplements and over-the-counter medications, including herbal treatments when discussing chemotherapy with an oncologist. The more information the doctor has, the better the advice they can give.
Radiation

Chemotherapy drugs may be used alone or with other drugs, surgical procedure or treatments. While chemotherapy is not a cure for malilgnant mesothelioma, the treatment is used to help slow the growth of the cancer. Other chemotherapy goals are neoadjuvant therapy, used to shrink tumors prior to surgical procedure, adjuvant therapy to damage tumorous cells following surgical procedure, and palliative therapy to relieve symptoms that cause pain and discomfort to the patient.

External beam radiotherapy is the most often used radiation therapy for malignant mesothelioma patients. it is an external treatment where the exposed skin over the cancerous area, the abdominal area in the case of peritoneal mesothelioma is irradiated. External beam radiotherapy is not specifically targeted enough to kill all cancer cells, and is most often used together with other forms of therapy to relieve symptoms and reduce pressure. in the work of this procedure, tissue around the affected area is equally exposed and side effects usually result that include skin irritation, pain, and difficulty swallowing.

Ionizing radiation is a therapy used to kill existing cancer cells and prevent the cancer from spreading. It may be used by itself or in combination with chemotherapy and/or surgical procedure. Radiation may be healing, to kill the cancer, or palliative, to reduce tumors and make the patient more comfortable. five types of radiation therapy are used to treat malignant mesothelioma: external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a new procedure involving an advanced mode of delivering computer-controlled, high-precision radiotherapy. IMRT carefully controls the dose of radiation to conform exactly to tumors using three-dimensional (3-D) modeling. this allows a higher dose of radiation, tightly focused on diseased cells, while minimizing impact on healthy surrounding tissues and, as a result, minimizing side effects.

Brachytherapy involves implanting little radioactive rods, sometimes called seeds, directly in to the cancerous area. This delivery technique delivers a little dose of radiation directly in to the cancerous tumors. Less damage is done to surrounding healthy tissues and as a result, there's fewer side effects.