New Study Reports CRS/HIPEC Treatment Beneficial To Mesothelioma Victims

Mesothelioma victims often don’t have many viable options when it comes to treating their illness. However, a new study reports that a surgical mesothelioma treatment approach known as CRS/HIPEC is beneficial to patients – many of whom have lived at least five years after receiving it.

What Is CRS/HIPEC?

CRS/HIPEC is a combination of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) – which means surgically removing cancerous cells – and the administration of heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) – which is a rinse of the open body cavity with a heated chemotherapy drugs.

According to a recent article in the journal Cancer Medicine, a team of researchers in the surgery department at Buffalo New York’s Roswell Park Cancer Institute reported that combining surgery and chemotherapy results in, “’acceptable’ rates of complications and death and ‘should be included’ in the multidisciplinary care of patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma and other operable abdominal cancers.”

RPCI researchers analyzed outcomes from patients with peritoneal mesothelioma, which initially affects the membrane of the abdomen, and other forms of cancer, in patients who underwent CRS/HIPEC treatment between 2003 and 2011. They found that there were no deaths amongst the group within 30 days of the procedure and that 81% of the peritoneal mesothelioma patients who underwent CRS/HIPEC were still alive five years after the procedure.

3,000 New Mesothelioma Diagnoses Made Every Year

In the past, many mesothelioma injury victims have only been given the options of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery for mesothelioma or participating in clinical trials. However, the CRS/HIPEC approach is becoming increasingly popular, especially in the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma. In addition to peritoneal mesothelioma, the majority of mesothelioma cases involve pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs.

According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, about 3,000 people continue to be diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the United States – even though their exposure to asbestos or asbestos-based products may have occurred up to 40 years earlier.

Don’t Be Deterred By When You Were Exposed; You Still May Be Entitled To Compensation

If you’ve been diagnosed with any type of mesothelioma, it’s important to work closely with your health care professionals and discuss whether existing or newer treatment options can help you. It’s also important to not be deterred by when you may have been exposed to asbestos – even if occurred decades ago. The law generally provides remedies according to when you discovered your illness – not when you were exposed.

Know more about mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.

Sources:

• Cancer Medicine
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23930210
• American Society of Clinical Oncology
  http://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/mesothelioma/statistics