What Is The Treatment For Pleural Mesothelioma?
The treatment options for mesothelioma are surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or a combination of all three. Surgical options include pleurectomy with decortication and extrapleural pneumonectomy. Pleurectomy with decortication involves dissection and removal of the parietal pleura with decortication of the visceral pleura. Extrapleural pneumonectomy is indicated in early stages of the disease when the mesothelioma is confined to the chest cavity. It involves dissection of the parietal pleura; division of the pulmonary vessels in addition to en bloc resection of the pleura, lung, pericardial sac as well as the diaphragm. For surgical treatment to be an option the patient must have adequate cardiopulmonary function. Chemotherapy currently used in treatment of mesothelioma is Alimta/Cisplatin and is considered the first line treatment in patients who are not surgical candidates.
