Newly developed mesothelioma treatment gives doctors and patients hope

Syracuse, NY – Presbyterian Hospital and the Columbia University Medical Center have announced that they’re looking for mesothelioma sufferers to participate in a medical trial that involves a recently developed targeted-radiation treatment.

According to Dr. Robert Taub, Director of The Mesothelioma Center at the hospital, current treatments such as extensive chemotherapy and painful surgery to remove the patient’s affected lung can extend the life expectancy of the person. However, he said those who engage in these procedures experience a poor quality of life and often still suffer a lot from the disease until they submit to it.

Dr. Taub hopes the new treatment, which involves the targeted injection of radioactive isotope P-32, will do away with the need for surgery.

The chosen participants for the clinical trial will receive a combination of cancer drug treatments and chemotherapy. Along with those, all patients will also undergo P-32 targeted-injection radiotherapy.

Patients also have the option of undergoing lung removal surgery which includes additional outpatient chemotherapy sessions. Related trials in the past have shown results of participants living for an average of seventy months. The survival rate after three years was about 67%.

Radiologist Dr. Rashid Fawwaz of New York-Presbyterian is optimistic that the P-32 treatments will be better alternative for mesothelioma sufferers.