What Are Mesothelioma Therapies?
Mesothelioma therapies include treatments that oncologists (cancer doctors) use to manage the disease and support patients through the physical and emotional challenges of a diagnosis.
While mesothelioma is aggressive, these therapies help doctors destroy tumors, prevent cancer cells from spreading, and make patients more comfortable.
There are two main types of mesothelioma therapies:
- Life-extending (curative) therapies: While there is no cure for mesothelioma, treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy can help patients live longer. In fact, some survivors have lived for years — even decades — with the right therapies.
- Supportive therapies: These treatments help manage the physical, emotional, and mental toll of mesothelioma. Options include pain management, acupuncture, mental health care, and more.
Cancer doctors can recommend the best therapies based on your symptoms, cancer spread, your overall health, and other factors. You can receive both curative and supportive therapies at the same time, allowing you to manage both the physical and emotional tolls of a mesothelioma diagnosis.
Use our Free Doctor Match to connect with specialists near you and access the mesothelioma therapies you need.
Types of Curative Mesothelioma Therapies
Doctors can use mesothelioma therapies like surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy alone or together to help patients live longer.
Surgery
Surgery is typically recommended for early-stage mesothelioma to remove as much cancer as possible and improve long-term survival.
Surgical therapies for mesothelioma include:
- Cytoreduction with heated chemotherapy (HIPEC) is used in cases of peritoneal mesothelioma, which forms in the abdominal lining (peritoneum). Doctors surgically remove tumors and then apply chemotherapy to destroy leftover cancer cells.
- Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) can help treat pleural mesothelioma. This surgery allows doctors to take out the pleura (lining of the lungs), part of the diaphragm, and the lung closest to the cancer.
- Pleurectomy with decortication (P/D) is another pleural mesothelioma surgery that removes cancer tumors and the pleura but spares the lungs. It is less invasive than an EPP, allowing for a faster recovery.
When combined with other treatments, surgery can significantly extend survival. Some patients have lived 10 years or more with multimodal therapy.
“The mesothelioma patients who live a long time have had surgery. Is it possible to live a long time with mesothelioma without surgery? Once in a while, you will have that.”
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses anti-cancer drugs to kill mesothelioma cells. It’s usually a systemic therapy, meaning it travels through the bloodstream to target cancer throughout the body. In some cases, it can also be a regional therapy applied directly to the affected area.
Commonly used chemotherapy drugs include:
Doctors may use chemotherapy before surgery to shrink tumors or after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells. It may also be the main treatment used if cancer is unresectable, meaning surgery isn’t an option.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy, uses high-energy X-rays to destroy mesothelioma cells and shrink tumors. Doctors often combine mesothelioma radiation with other curative therapies for best results.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a newer treatment that boosts the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. Mesothelioma can hide from the immune system, but immunotherapies help expose and attack the cancer.
Oncology doctors can use:
- Keytruda® (pembrolizumab)
- Opdivo® (ipilimumab) and Yervoy® (nivolumab)
- Emerging immunotherapies in clinical trials
Download our Free Checklist of Questions to Ask Your Doctor for help determining which mesothelioma therapies may be right for you.
Emerging Treatments in Clinical Trials
Clinical trials test new treatments that may help mesothelioma patients live longer. While there are no guarantees, some mesothelioma patients have been treated successfully in these trials, finding hope when their options were otherwise limited.
These therapies may be available through mesothelioma clinical trials:
- Gene therapy: Adds genes to mesothelioma cells so they’re easier to kill
- Photodynamic therapy: Uses light-sensitive drugs to damage cancer cells
- Proton therapy: Delivers precise radiation with less damage to healthy tissue
- Targeted therapy: Attacks specific proteins or molecules on cancer cells to stop them from growing
- TruC T-cell therapy: Boosts immune T-cells so they can more easily attack mesothelioma tumors
- Virotherapy: Modifies viruses to help destroy cancer cells
Your mesothelioma doctor can check whether there are any ongoing clinical trials near you.
Types of Mesothelioma Supportive Therapies
Mesothelioma supportive therapies focus on easing pain and making the cancer journey less stressful for patients and their families.
Mesothelioma supportive therapies are often the main treatments used for end-stage patients. However, anyone with mesothelioma can benefit from supportive care.
Nutritional Therapy
Mesothelioma nutrition therapy ensures you’re following a cancer-fighting diet that will help your body stay strong throughout treatment.
A nutrition plan for mesothelioma may include:
- Avoiding alcohol and highly processed, sugary foods
- Consuming foods at room temperature to prevent nausea
- Eating highly nutritious foods to maintain your strength
- Selecting specific foods to help with inflammation
Mesothelioma patient Art Putt started an alternative diet of cottage cheese, beetroot powder, and oils after experiencing severe treatment side effects. Art credits this dietary change with his long-term survival — he’s lived over 7 years since his initial diagnosis.
Download our Free Mesothelioma Nutrition Guide for advice on getting the nutrients you need during treatment and recovery.
Complementary Therapy
Complementary and alternative mesothelioma therapies offer natural or holistic ways of easing mesothelioma symptoms and mental health issues like anxiety.
Complementary therapies for mesothelioma may include:
- Acupuncture
- Massage therapy
- Meditation
- Yoga
“Mind-body practices can support you in feeling a sense of inner calmness and relaxation. Studies have found that meditation can help reduce stress and depression and improve your quality of life.”
– Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Always speak with your doctor before starting alternative and complementary treatments. Some dietary supplements could potentially affect standard treatments and make things worse.
Palliative Care and Pain Management
Palliative care focuses on boosting quality of life by relieving symptoms and side effects of major treatments. Any patient can benefit from palliative mesothelioma therapies.
Palliative care options include:
- Fluid drains: Pleural mesothelioma patients can undergo thoracentesis to drain pleural effusions (fluid in the lung lining that causes shortness of breath and chest pain). If a patient has peritoneal mesothelioma, they can receive a paracentesis for ascites (abdominal fluid buildup causing bloating).
- Medication: Doctors can use medications and other types of pain management to manage discomfort caused by cancer and treatment-related side effects.
- Minor surgeries: Even if doctors can’t remove all of a cancer tumor with surgery, they could take out portions of it to relieve mesothelioma symptoms.
- Talc pleurodesis: Used for pleural mesothelioma, this seals the linings of the lungs to prevent pleural effusions from coming back.
If you’re not feeling well, ask your mesothelioma doctor about palliative therapies that could be available in your case.
Emotional Support and Mental Health Therapies
A mesothelioma cancer diagnosis can bring a lot of stress. Some patients and loved ones may even develop severe mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Staying on top of your mental health can make a mesothelioma journey easier to bear.
Key mental health resources for mesothelioma include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps people reframe their behavior and thinking. It can be used to treat anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.
- Family counseling can help you and your loved ones walk through a mesothelioma diagnosis and treatment together.
- Grief counseling allows families to work through losing a loved one to mesothelioma.
- Support groups help patients, caregivers, and loved ones cope with the emotional aspects of a diagnosis by connecting them with other cancer patients.
“The mesothelioma community has afforded me an incredible opportunity to meet others affected by this disease. It is such a gift to be even a small part of their corner of the world.”
Contact us now for help finding support after a mesothelioma diagnosis. We can connect you with cancer support groups, peer mentors, and more helpful resources.
How to Find the Right Mesothelioma Therapy
To find the best mesothelioma therapies, you’ll need to work with doctors who specialize in treating this cancer. Top mesothelioma doctors can properly diagnose you and determine which treatments will be best in your case.
Experienced mesothelioma doctors can:
- Help you access surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and more
- Offer supportive and palliative therapies
- Make adjustments to your treatment plan as needed
- Provide updates on how mesothelioma therapies are working in your case
- Recommend clinical trials offering new mesothelioma therapies
When you get treatment at mesothelioma cancer centers, you won’t just get access to skilled doctors — you’ll also have a multidisciplinary team of nurses, social workers, and other experts.
Working with these specialists can help you access mesothelioma supportive therapies as well, ensuring that your medical and emotional needs are met.
Get Help Accessing Mesothelioma Therapy
Mesothelioma therapies can allow you to potentially live longer with this cancer, ease symptoms, and manage your mental health.
By working with experienced doctors, you can get the best mesothelioma therapies for your case and hopefully have a higher quality of life.
Mesothelioma Hope can help you find top cancer specialists to guide you every step of the way after a diagnosis, making life easier for you and your family.
Use our Free Doctor Match or call (866) 608-8933 to speak with a Patient Advocate.
Mesothelioma Therapy FAQs
What is the best treatment for mesothelioma?
The best mesothelioma therapies or treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy. Doctors can use different combinations of cancer treatments to help you or a loved one live as long as possible.
Speak with a mesothelioma specialist to learn which mesothelioma therapies will be best in your case. Factors like your cancer’s location and stage, as well as your overall health, all affect which treatment options could be the most effective.
How long can someone live with pleural mesothelioma?
The average life expectancy of a person with malignant pleural mesothelioma is 18 months with treatment. The 5-year mesothelioma survival rate is 12%, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
With that said, some patients have become long-term survivors depending on how their bodies respond to mesothelioma therapies.
For example, John Stahl was diagnosed with stage 4 pleural mesothelioma in 2019. While most stage 4 patients only live a few months, John is still alive today — more than 6 years later — thanks to chemotherapy. “I’m pretty well back to normal,” he says.
Call (866) 608-8933 for help finding mesothelioma therapies that may allow you or someone you love to live longer with this cancer.
What are the final stages of peritoneal mesothelioma?
Peritoneal mesothelioma doesn’t have formal stages, but in advanced cases, the cancer has spread through the abdominal lining and can overwhelm the body.
Patients with cases of advanced peritoneal mesothelioma can receive a wide range of palliative, or pain-relieving, therapies. Late-stage care for mesothelioma could include hospice services designed to make end-of-life as pain-free as possible.
Use our Free Doctor Match to find specialists who can recommend pain-relieving mesothelioma therapies.
How fast does mesothelioma progress?
While mesothelioma takes 10-50 years to develop after asbestos exposure, the cancer can spread very quickly through the body without treatment.
Doctors can recommend different types of mesothelioma therapies to slow the spread of the cancer depending on the unique factors in your case. Surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and other approaches can all potentially help.
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