title: New therapies in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma.
abstract: It can be safely stated that currently there exists no standard therapy for malignant mesothelioma. The "standard" methods of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery have all been used with little improvement in overall survival. Trimodality therapy that involves a combination of all three standard treatment modalities has been shown to improve survival in selected patients. New and innovative treatment strategies clearly are needed for a disease which, because of the disappointment with standard therapy, is most commonly approached with only palliative intent. The location of this malignancy and its tendency to remain localized make it an ideal target for intracavitary approaches using photodynamic therapy, targeted cytokines, and gene therapy. Strategies using modulation of the immune system in an attempt to elicit a specific response to the tumor have been combined with chemotherapy to optimize response. Lessons learned from treating this localized malignancy with novel therapies may have much broader implications for other tumors in which systemic disease predominates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Kaiser
mesh_terms: D000256:Adenoviridae; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins