The Mesothelioma Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center is now recruiting patients for a clinical research study of a new targeted radiation and chemotherapy protocol for pleural mesothelioma. The standard treatment at the present time is removal of the patient’s lung. Current surgical and chemotherapy treatments of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma have not significantly prolonged the lives of patients with the disease.
“In this study, we will investigate whether a combination of chemotherapy and radiation targeted directly at the lung’s lining can improve outcomes while avoiding surgery,” says Dr. Robert Taub, the study’s principal investigator, and director of the Mesothelioma Center. “In addition, this approach has shown to have minimal toxic side effects compared to systemic chemotherapy.”
“This trial is also significant because our center is the only one nationwide that is offering this experimental therapy to treat pleural mesothelioma,” added Dr. Taub. “We are very focused on offering these patients the best treatment that medical technology can offer while simultaneously working to preserve quality of life.”
Researchers also anticipate that the radiation therapy will kill the cancer cells on surface of the lung while sparing other parts of the lung and surrounding vital tissues.
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