A study of nearly 60 people diagnosed with the cancer mesothelioma further proves heated chemotherapy can improve survival. Heated chemotherapy is a mesothelioma treatment option to kill any cancer cells that can’t be taken out with surgery.
Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer that forms in the lining of the chest or abdominal cavity. The disease spreads erratically and often leads to microscopic cancer cells separate from the large tumors. These cells are difficult to find and remove during surgery.
In the study, heated chemotherapy improved survival by six months.
What Is Heated Chemotherapy for Mesothelioma?
Heated chemotherapy is a cancer treatment using a liquid chemotherapy solution to kill cancer cells. Doctors heat the chemotherapy solution and deliver it directly into the diseased area, such as the chest or abdominal cavity for mesothelioma.
Heated chemotherapy for mesothelioma is often called heated intrathoracic chemotherapy (HITHOC) or heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). HITHOC is used to treat pleural mesothelioma. HIPEC is used to treat peritoneal mesothelioma.
Doctors deliver HITHOC or HIPEC through a port or catheter into the patients’ chest cavity or abdominal cavity as part of the surgery. The medical team rocks the patients back and forth to bathe the cavity with the chemotherapy solution – in an attempt to kill any microscopic cancer cells left after removing all visible tumors.
HITHOC Improves Mesothelioma Survival by 25%
The study, published in the medical journal Updates in Surgery, included 55 people with pleural mesothelioma, which forms in the thin lining of the lungs, called the pleura. Tumors can spread beyond the pleura to the lung tissue.
The patients in the study all had localized pleural mesothelioma, which is a mesothelioma in early stages. Tumors are all found in the pleura and have not yet spread to the lungs.
Thirty of the 55 patients received HITHOC with surgery. The other 25 patients had surgery without HITHOC.
People receiving HITHOC had an average survival of 28 months (2 years, 4 months). This is better than the overall average mesothelioma survival of 1-2 years.
Patients in the study who received surgery without HITHOC – no heated chemotherapy – had an average survival of 22 months (1 year, 10 months).
HITHOC improved survival by an average of six months, which was a nearly 25% improval. Authors wrote, “HITHOC following (surgery) is a safe therapeutic option that may improve survival for selected patients with … pleural mesothelioma. Patients with earlier-stage mesothelioma are more likely to benefit from radical surgery and HITHOC.”
Sources & Author
- Effect of intraoperative hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy after pleurectomy decortication for treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma: a comparative study. Updates in Surgery. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13304-024-01986-1. Accessed: 11/08/2024.
Sources & Author
