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Mesothelioma Treatment - Other Therapies - Overview

Traditional cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy may be more widely used to treat mesothelioma, but alternative therapies and treatments are on the rise. To date, few cases of mesothelioma have been cured, and it is this fact that motivates the trend toward unconventional forms of therapy. It is the hope of countless mesothelioma patients and medical professionals across the globe that other therapies will one day afford a cure for this rapacious disease. Alternative therapies such as gene therapy, immunotherapy, and photodynamic therapy are showing promising results and may one day be considered conventional forms of mesothelioma treatment.

Gene Therapy

Gene therapy aims to correct the issues caused by a defective gene by using special techniques to replace the defective copy of a gene with a copy that functions properly.

The process is performed by genetically altering a virus to carry a normal copy of the gene. The patient is 'infected' with the virus, which enters target cells and causes them to produce normal proteins. Concerning mesothelioma treatment, this therapy uses genetic material to target cancer cells to make them susceptible to chemotherapy drugs.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is another form of alternative therapy that involves the use and manipulation of an individual's immune system to assist in the fighting of disease. When applied to mesothelioma and other forms of cancer, immunotherapy fools the immune system into registering cancer cells as foreign. This directs the immune system to destroy cancer cells, while leaving normal and healthy cells undisturbed.

Active immunotherapy treatments generally encourage the immune system to fight disease. Vaccines are considered an active type of immunotherapy. Conversely, passive immunotherapy treatments use components that are created outside the body. Non-specific immunotherapy treatments are different from active and passive in that they do not involve the use of cancer cells from the patient.

Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy works off the principle that normal cells and cancer cells react differently to photosensitizing drugs. This form of therapy utilizes light energy to obliterate cancer cells with the aim of leaving healthy cells mostly unaffected.

This process works by administering drugs called photosensitizers. These drugs cause cells to become sensitive to light. Upon receiving medication, treated cells are exposed to light of a particular wavelength. This causes the treated cells to produce a specific form of oxygen that is toxic to the cell, which results in the death of nearby cancer cells.

Sources:

1. http://www.cancer.org/downloads/PUB/DOCS/SECTION28/89.pdf
2. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/photodynamic

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