Localized Malignant Mesothelioma (Stage I)

Standard treatment options:[1]

1. Solitary mesotheliomas: Surgical resection en bloc including contiguous structures to ensure wide disease-free margins. Sessile polypoid lesions should be treated with surgical resection to ensure maximal potential for cure.[2]
2. Intracavitary mesothelioma:
   1. Palliative surgery (pleurectomy and decortication) with or without postoperative radiation therapy.
   2. Extrapleural pneumonectomy.
   3. Palliative radiation therapy.

Treatment options under clinical evaluation:

1. Intracavitary chemotherapy following resection.[3,4]
2. Multimodality therapy.[4-6]
3. Other clinical trials.

Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Cancer.gov Web site.

References

1. Antman KH, Li FP, Osteen R, et al.: Mesothelioma. Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology Updates 3(1): 1-16, 1989. 
   
   
2. Martini N, McCormack PM, Bains MS, et al.: Pleural mesothelioma. Ann Thorac Surg 43 (1): 113-20, 1987.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
3. Markman M, Kelsen D: Efficacy of cisplatin-based intraperitoneal chemotherapy as treatment of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 118 (7): 547-50, 1992.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
4. Rusch V, Saltz L, Venkatraman E, et al.: A phase II trial of pleurectomy/decortication followed by intrapleural and systemic chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma. J Clin Oncol 12 (6): 1156-63, 1994.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
5. Sugarbaker DJ, Mentzer SJ, DeCamp M, et al.: Extrapleural pneumonectomy in the setting of a multimodality approach to malignant mesothelioma. Chest 103 (4 Suppl): 377S-381S, 1993.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
6. Vogelzang NJ: Malignant mesothelioma: diagnostic and management strategies for 1992. Semin Oncol 19 (4 Suppl 11): 64-71, 1992.  [PUBMED Abstract]

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Sources of National Cancer Institute Information

Mesothilioma, Mesotheliema,Mesothiliema,Mesotheleoma Mesosthelioma, Masesthilioma information: