Induction Therapy for Mesothelioma
Induction IMRT was significantly associated with a decreased risk of transfusion with red blood cells as well as plasma and platelets.
Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) March 28, 2016
A new Canadian study finds that mesothelioma patients scheduled to undergo radical EPP surgery may experience a lower need for blood transfusions if they have radiotherapy instead of chemotherapy beforehand. Surviving Mesothelioma has just posted details of the new research. Click here to read it now.
Doctors at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto tested the impact of either chemotherapy or intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) prior to extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant mesothelioma.
“Induction IMRT was significantly associated with a decreased risk of transfusion with red blood cells as well as plasma and platelets,” writes study author and thoracic surgeon Pierre Mordant, MD.
The team analyzed 126 mesothelioma patients’ cases to make the determination. Even though IMRT was used primarily on the oldest and sickest patients, the 90-day mortality rates for the two groups after surgery were comparable.
“Like the decision about what kind of mesothelioma surgery to have, the choice of induction therapy is also critical and highly personalized,” says Surviving Mesothelioma’s Managing Editor, Alex Strauss. “This study offers some valuable considerations for mesothelioma patients and their doctors.”
For a better understanding of the Canadian study and its findings, see Therapy Before Mesothelioma Surgery: Which is Better?, now available on the Surviving Mesothelioma website.
Mordant, P, “Impact of induction therapy on postoperative outcome after extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant pleural mesothelioma: does induction-accelerated hemithoracic radiation increase the surgical risk?”, March 22, 2016, European Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Epub ahead of print, http://icvts.oxfordjournals.org/content/21/suppl_1/S37.3.full
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