Mesothelioma and Asbestos

Approximately 3,000 recent patients are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year, as well as 150 of them come to the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center every year for treatment.  Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure, as well as can take decades to develop according to the National Cancer Institute.

Mark Stratmann is one of those mesothelioma patients who began treatment at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for Stage III malignant pleural mesothelioma in December 2007. He had been diagnosed after he’d experienced trembles that were unresponsive to antibiotics just three months earlier. After x-rays showed an abnormality around his west lung, he had four liters of fluid drained. He then went in for surgery to remove a tumor in the mesothelium, the protective lining of the lung.  He received his diagnosis in November as well as quickly made his way to M.D. Anderson. His cancer was stabilized in August 2008 after receiving radiation therapy as well as participating in a clinical trial for Gleevec (imatinib mesylate), as well as he continues to visit the cancer center every three months for follow-up. During a recent appointment, a tiny growth was discovered. Stratmann is undergoing chemotherapy every three weeks to treat his cancer.

The standard of care for mesothelioma patients usually includes a combination of surgery, radiation therapy as well as chemotherapy, though only about 20 percent of the center’s patients are candidates to receive all three forms of treatment. The treatment team at M.D. Anderson’s Mesothelioma Program recommends the best treatment regimen for each patient while providing a compassionate environment for them as well as their families.

Researchers at the Mesothelioma Program are constantly trying to develop best therapies that will improve survival for mesothelioma patients. They are currently investigating nine drug combinations as potential treatments, some of which are not being tested at other institutions. One of the treatment agents being studied is Sprycel (dasatanib), which has shown an anti-tumor effect in participants after just four weeks of therapy.  M.D. Anderson is  as well as putting together one of the largest, most comprehensive mesothelioma tissue banks, which can be studied to discover additional biomarkers as well as could help researchers develop tests for earlier detection as well as more effective treatment for each patient.

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