Mesothelioma Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is one of the oldest and most frequently prescribed treatments for a variety of cancers, including Mesothelioma. The American Cancer Society reports that about 60% of all cancer patients receive some form of radiation therapy. Somewhat less frightening than chemotherapy and surgery, radiation may be prescribed for the treatment of the disease itself or to help lessen the troublesome symptoms of a cancer such as Mesothelioma.
Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation can be received from a machine (external radiation) or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes in the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy).
In pleural Mesothelioma, it is difficult to irradiate tumor tissue successfully without injuring nearby organs like the lungs, heart, and liver. Radiation therapy, however, can be very effective in relieving pain in certain situations.
External radiation - The most common form of radiation therapy, external radiation is achieved by means of an x-ray machine which aims radioactive waves at the tumor or affected portion of the body. The procedure is fairly quick and is accomplished on an outpatient basis. How many radiation treatments a patient requires will depend on individual cases and include factors such as stage of the disease and size and location of the tumor.
Internal radiation - Also known as Brach therapy, this type of radiation involves planting radioactive material into the cancerous tissue. It allows for the implementation of higher doses in a single treatment or is suggested for patients with tumors that are located deep inside the body and are unable to be reached by traditional external radiation. Patients must be admitted to the hospital for internal radiation, and because exposure to the patient may cause danger to others due to radioactivity, visitors will be limited for the first few days. Implants such as these may be temporary or permanent.
Brach therapy is the use of radioactive substances to deliver radiation treatments. The term “branchy” comes from the Greek word for short range. This therapy is contrasted to that given as external beam radiation over a long range.
Since the radioactive substances that are used in these treatments are only effective in the short range, they need to be placed in or very near the target. Hence, for mesothelioma, Brach therapy can be used as an “Intraoperative Radiation Therapy” (IORT). The team of Thoracic Surgeon and Radiation Oncologist are able to measure regions of the chest cavity that have not been able to undergo a full oncology removal of the mesothelioma with at least one centimeter clear margin. A customized radioactive implant can be made by weaving radioactive seeds into a flexible absorbable mesh. This can then be stitched into place. With coordination, this does not add to the overall operative time. The radiation from a radioactive iodine seed implant is delivered about three months, with some residual radioactivity present for about a year. At present there are no prospective data to support this. A few centers are reviewing their clinical experience retrospectively. More data will be available within the following year.
