Mesothelioma

The number of individuals suffering with mesothelioma is rising around the world. In 2009 the World Health Organization estimated ninety thousand cases globally each year. Developing countries continue to use the disease causing material, asbestos, even though the risks are known. In America the regulations on asbestos use are high, but about three thousand mesothelioma cases still occur annually. Many of these cases, as well as other fatal and chronic conditions, are associated with asbestos exposure in the work place.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelium, the lining of the lungs and other thoracic and abdominal organs. Caused by asbestos fibers, which mutate the membrane cells in the lung lining, mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with a short and painful prognosis. Although it can take several decades for symptoms to be seen, once diagnosed, many patients have only a six to twenty-four month survival time.

Many negative side affects are associated with mesothelioma treatments. Chemotherapy causes several conditions that lower chances for survival. In mesothelioma patients, neotropenia and anemia are common responses to chemotherapy. In these illnesses, the blood looses white and red blood cells, respectively, leaving the patient fatigued, weak and susceptible to infection. Loss of energy and strength from the results of chemotherapy lower quality of life and the patient’s ability to fight the cancer.

With a rising number of patients worldwide, the timing could not be better for new treatment options. AstraZeneca’s new drug raltitrexed, brand name Tomudex ®, is now available for use in Portugal, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Raltitrexed has shown beneficial results in clinical tests when used in conjunction with cisplatin. Cisplatin is a long-standing chemotherapy drug used regularly against mesothelioma.

In clinical testing, patients administered both raltitrexed and cisplatin showed higher response to treatment rates, extended survival times, and longer progression-free survival times than patients given cisplatin alone. On a molecular level, raltitrexed actually does less to the cells than cisplatin, but in this case it works in favor of the patient. Cisplatin ultimately kills the cells it bonds with, without a safeguard against it bonding with healthy cells close to the cancer. Raltitrexed only halts the growth and division of cells. Fast growth and cell division characterizes most cancers, including mesothelioma.

Patients using raltitrexed are experiencing a higher quality of life and longer life expectancy. As palliative and curative treatments advance in the arena of mesothelioma response, raltitrexed may be used in both aggressive and non-aggressive treatment schedules.