Mesothelioma Clinical Trials:

Mesothelioma clinical trials are a continual process, with experts and medical professionals working hard to try and find an effective, long term treatment for victims of this deadly cancer.

Resulting from exposure to asbestos fibres, mesothelioma is a cancer that can affect various parts of the body. Most commonly, it affects the lung and respiratory area, but can also affect the abdominal region and the heart. This cancer has a very long latency period, and symptoms may not show for several decades following exposure to asbestos. It is a disease that is notoriously difficult to diagnose due to its non-specific symptoms, and is equally hard to treat as there is currently no long term treatment available.

Through clinical trials, which are carried out all over the world, it is hoped that an effective treatment can be found that will stop this disease from being a terminal one. There have been some breakthroughs in terms of short term treatments and diagnostic tests, but a long term treatment is yet to be found. Clinical trials are no guarantee of successful treatment. However, they are normally performed with substances and medications that researchers believe to have some positive effect following lab and animal testing.

Clinical trials may differ from state to state, and anyone wishing to be part of a trial will need to meet the set criteria, which can again differ from state to state. The trials can be held as out-patient hospital treatments or within cancer research units, depending on the location.

There are generally three phases involved in clinical trials, and all three phases must be successful before the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) can consider approving the drug or treatment. These stages are:

Phase I: This takes place after lab and animal testing has been successfully performed. However, during this stage the effects on human patients of the drug or treatment being tested needs to be closely monitored. This stage is also used to determine the best method of administration of the drug, and how much can be administered safely.

Phase II: Following the evaluation of the safety of the treatment (during phase I) this phase assesses how effective the drug or treatment is. The patients’ affected areas are carefully monitored to see what effects the treatment has had on the cancer. Side effects as well as positive and negative effects are recorded and carefully assessed during this phase.

Phase III: This is where large numbers of patients are enrolled for testing of the treatment or drug. There is generally a ‘control group’ who are given a standard treatment, whereas the test group are given the new treatment. This enables researchers to compare the effects of the new treatment against the standard one. Patients are very closely monitored during this phase, and treatment is stopped upon the onset of any severe side effects.

There are a number of standard questions that a researcher needs to be able to answer from the results of clinical trials, such as:

* Whether the treatment is likely to help patients
* Whether the treatment works
* Whether the treatment is more effective than other standard treatments available
* What sort of side effects the treatment has
* Whether the benefits outweigh the risks and side effects
* Whether the treatment is likely to help a particular group of patients, and if so which group

Although doctors often recommend joining clinical trials to their patients (subject to eligibility) it is the patient’s decision as to whether or not he or she wishes to be part of a test group. Patients often agree to clinical trials in the hope that they can benefit from a new treatment as well as help the medical profession to find a drug that can help others in the same situation. However, refusing to be part of a clinical trial does not in any way affect the patient’s right to standard treatment or medication.

Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that affects the mesothelial cells around the heart, lungs or abdominal organs. The most common type of mesothelioma is the one which affects the pleura, the thin membrane between the lungs and the chest cavity. This type of the disease is known as Pleural Mesothelioma, and sufferers can experience symptoms which include: shortness of breath, breathing difficulties, persistent coughing, chest pains, weight loss, and trouble swallowing.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma is another form of this disease but is not as common as Pleural Mesothelioma. This type of the disease affects the peritoneum membrane of the abdomen. These tumors can also be found in the stomach and abdominal organs. Sufferers of Peritoneal Mesothelioma can experience symptoms which include: stomach pains and abdominal swelling, nausea, loss if appetite, vomiting, bowel obstruction, and blood clotting abnormalities.

The third and the rarest type of mesothelioma is Pericardial Mesothelioma, which affects the tissue and cavity surrounding the heart. Patients of this type of the disease may experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pains, persistent coughing and palpitations.

Malignant mesothelioma is a fatal disease caused by exposure to asbestos. A form of cancer, this disease can affect the sac lining, the chest or the abdomen. An unusual aspect about this disease is that it does not manifest itself for years following the asbestos exposure – in fact, the average manifestation time is 35-40 years later, and in some cases even 50 years later.

In previous years, asbestos was widely used in many places. Many people worked with this deadly material, unaware that several decades later it would be the death of them. Workers such as insulaters, plasterers, electricians, mechanics, bricklayers, carpenters, and other tradesmen were exposed to asbestos on a daily basis as it was contained in many insulation and construction materials.

However, it is not only those that were regularly exposed to asbestos that are at risk. There have been many cases of mesothelioma manifestation in people that were only exposed to asbestos for a short period of time. In fact, the disease has even been known to affect people who have had only minimal contact, such as wives that used to wash their husbands overalls after they had worked with asbestos.

The long latency period attached to mesothelioma means that the symptoms of this disease can take many years to manifest, making both diagnosis and effective treatment very difficult. And even when the symptoms do become evident, which can take several decades, the symptoms are so generalised and non-specific that they could be put down to any number of more common diseases. This makes it hard for even experienced doctors to make a quick and conclusive diagnosis with mesothelioma patients. The symptoms of this disease can often be confused with pneumonia during its early stages.

Some of the most common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma (which is the most common form of the disease) are shortness of breath and chest pains. This may be accompanied by a persistent cough, and all of these symptoms stem from the build up of fluid between the lining of the lung and the chest cavity. This is known as pleural effusion. This type of the disease starts in the chest cavity and can then spread to other parts of the body. Pleural mesothelioma sufferers may also begin to display severe breathing difficulty, weight loss and fever as well as trouble swallowing and even swelling of the face and neck. Some patients may also develop a rasping voice and start coughing up blood. However, there are other patients that may not show any significant symptoms at all.

The symptoms for patients who suffer from peritoneal mesothelioma (a rarer form of the disease) are slightly different. This type of the disease starts in the abdomen and can spread form there. Patients of peritoneal mesothelioma can display abdominal pain and swelling, nausea, loss of appetite and vomiting. They can also suffer breathing problems, and chest pain in addition to these symptoms. These symptoms result from tumors that lean against the abdominal wall. Bowel obstruction, anemia, fever and problems with blood clotting may also affect peritoneal mesothelioma patients.

The rarest form of this disease is pericardial mesothelioma, which starts in the cavity surrounding the heart. With pericardial mesothelioma, the tumors grow in the tissues that surround the heart and can spread from there. Pericardial mesothelioma sufferers may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, persistent coughing and palpitations.