Surviving Mesothelioma Reports: New Study Suggests Shortness of Breath Treatment May Be Less Effective in Mesothelioma Patients
Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) January 19, 2016 -- Scientists in Shandong, China have released a new study suggesting that mesothelioma patients may have a harder time finding relief from shortness of breath due to lung fluid buildup than other cancer patients do. Surviving Mesothelioma has just posted a new article on the study on its website. Click here to read it now.
Doctors at Shandong University analyzed the cases of more than a thousand patients who underwent a procedure called talc pleurodesis for the treatment of pleural effusion, a buildup of fluid in the lungs that is common in people with mesothelioma, lung cancer, and several other malignancies.
“Pleurodesis was less effective in treating effusion caused by lung cancer (72.3%) and mesothelioma (68.2%) than that caused by breast cancer (84.4%) and other tumors (87.8%),” writes lead researcher Dr. Juan Chen in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine.
Talc pleurodesis is a surgical procedure that uses a talc solution to help close the space around the lungs where fluid collects, preventing future fluid buildup and breathlessness.
“The take-home message here is that it pays for mesothelioma patients experiencing pleural effusion to explore all of their treatment options,” says Alex Strauss, Managing Editor of Surviving Mesothelioma. “Talc pleurodesis is still effective for many mesothelioma sufferers, but there are alternatives.”
To read more about the results of the Chinese study and options for the treatment of pleural effusion in mesothelioma patients, see Pleural Effusion Treatment May Be Less Effective in Mesothelioma Patients, now available on the Surviving Mesothelioma website.
Chen, J et al, “Efficacy of medical thoracoscopic talc pleurodesis in malignant pleural effusion caused by different types of tumors and different pathological classifications of lung cancer”, October 2015, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, pp. 18945-53, http://www.ijcem.com/files/ijcem0011800.pdf
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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