New ‘SMART’ Trial Aims to Test Radiation for Mesothelioma Treatment Complication, According to Surviving Mesothelioma
Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) January 16, 2015 -- British researchers are recruiting patients for a trial they hope will shed light on the best way to address procedure tract metastases (PTM) in patients with mesothelioma. Surviving Mesothelioma has just posted an article on the new trial. Click here to read it now.
Procedure tract metastases are small tumors that can grow along the path where an incision was made or a pleural catheter was used on a person with malignant pleural mesothelioma. PTMs can cause mesothelioma to spread faster and make it harder to treat.
“The surgical and large bore procedures in malignant pleural mesothelioma and radiotherapy trial (SMART Trial) is a suitably powered, multicenter, randomized controlled trial, designed to evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic radiotherapy within 42 days of pleural instrumentation in preventing the development of PTM in malignant pleural mesothelioma,” states Amelia Clive, MD, one of the doctors involved in the study.
An announcement of the trial in BMJ Open says it will include 203 mesothelioma patients who will be randomly assigned to either have radiotherapy within 42 days of a procedure or to receive radiotherapy only if a PTM develops.
“Since most mesothelioma patients eventually have some kind of intervention such as surgery, biopsy, or drainage of excess lung fluid, the results of this trial could have a significant impact on the future of their treatment and survival,” says Surviving Mesothelioma’s Managing Editor, Alex Strauss.
For more information on procedure tract metastases and the SMART trial, see New Mesothelioma Trial: Radiation for Prevention? now available on the Surviving Mesothelioma website.
Clive, Amelia et al, “Protocol for the surgical and large bore procedures in malignant pleural mesothelioma and radiotherapy trial (SMART Trial): an RCT evaluating whether prophylactic radiotherapy reduces the incidence of procedure tract metastases”, January 9, 2015, BMJ Open, Volume 5, Issue 1, http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/1/e006673.abstract
For nearly ten years, Surviving Mesothelioma has brought readers the most important and ground-breaking news on the causes, diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma. All Surviving Mesothelioma news is gathered and reported directly from the peer-reviewed medical literature. Written for patients and their loved ones, Surviving Mesothelioma news helps families make more informed decisions.
Michael Ellis, Cancer Monthy, http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com, +1 (919) 570-8595, [email protected]
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