Mesothelioma Patients May Experience Fewer Side Effects Thanks to Inhalation Treatment

In an article in Science Daily dated October 11, 2011, is the report of a new and safer method of treating mesothelioma. The article is titled “Inhaler Treatment for Lung Cancer.” It reports that, according to a press release by the University of Strathclyde, patients suffering from mesothelioma could be on their way to receiving more efficient treatment of their disease by means of a new system being developed by researchers in Glasgow, Scotland at the University of Strathclyde.

Research scientists have invented a delivery method for giving drugs to patients not by traditional intravenous delivery but by inhalation through a nebulizer.

A nebulizer or inhalator is a device for altering a drug in liquid form into a fine spray or mist which is then inhaled by the patient through a mask.

Advantages of drug delivery by means of inhalation using a nebulizer include the following:

• The drug treatment could be administered far more quickly than by existing methods of delivery.
• Side effects harmful to mesothelioma patients with current delivery systems could be avoided.
• Health professionals could deliver smaller doses of cancer-fighting drugs without any lessening of benefit to patients suffering from mesothelioma cancer.
• One of the primary side effects of existing methods of drug delivery is kidney damage. Damage to the kidneys could be avoided with the administering of drugs by inhalation.
• One of the most widely used cancer-fighting drugs, cisplatin, could be administered in a vaporized form, enabling medical professionals to get the drug to the cancerous cells while avoiding damage to healthy cells nearby. Damage caused to healthy cells can be especially debilitating to patients suffering from mesothelioma.
• Delivery of vaporized cisplatin by means of inhalation would help mesothelioma patients live longer and enjoy a higher quality of life.

In the recent past, surgical removal of the tumor, rarely achievable for most patients due to the fact that microscopic tumor tissue is often left behind, was the preferred method of treatment of mesothelioma cancer.

Surgery is still used. The goal is not to remove the tumor completely but to remove the vast bulk of the tumor in order to alleviate patient symptoms. Surgical procedures include the following:

• Video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) talc pleurodesis—this surgery is used primarily to treat pleural effusions, but biopsies can also be obtained for purposes of diagnoses.
• Pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) surgery is performed with the goal of removing as much of the tumor as is possible. Part of the pleura is removed along with the fibrous lung covering. This surgery may cause restricted expansion of the lungs.
• Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP)—both layers of the pleura are removed surgically along with lymph nodes, the diaphragm, and the involved lung itself. This is the most aggressive of all surgeries performed. This surgery has inherent dangers, but it does allow the subsequent use of radiation therapy following the surgery because the cancer-involved lung has been completely removed from the patient. Radiation therapy is most often administered to treat small areas of tumor left behind after the surgery as well as localized recurrences of tumors.

The most recent research conducted involving new delivery of drugs through inhalation by means of a nebulizer is one example of the pioneering work done at the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences in developing new techniques, treatments, and medicines to treat illnesses such as mesothelioma cancer, heart disease, and other infectious diseases. The research was led by Dr. Chris Carter, Senior Lecturer of the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. His partners in research included Dr. Valerie Ferro and Professor Alex Mullen.