In the spring
2015 edition of the UCLA quarterly newsletter, Vital Signs, UCLA’s Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program
presents their innovative approach to treating this complex and difficult to
treat cancer.
As one of the early pioneers for the
lung-sparing Pleurectomy / Decortication (PD) over the Extrapleural Pneumonectomy surgery, Dr. Robert
Cameron, director of the UCLA Comprehensive
Mesothelioma Program, has long believed that leaving the lung intact and
removing only the pleura and visible cancer cells surrounding the lungs is most
beneficial to the patients long term survival and quality of life. According to
Dr. Cameron, “There
is no current treatment that will eradicate every cell, but our goal is to help
patients live for a long time with their disease while maximizing their quality
of life.”
After surgery, patients are then treated with a
form of high dose radiation called TomoTherapy, which is delivered to the
cancer site with much greater precision than common radiation therapy, patients
also experience fewer negative side effects as a result of the localized
treatment.
The Comprehensive Mesotheloma team at UCLA has also
pioneered treatments to address tumor regrowth after the initial treatment,
including immunotherapy and cryoablation. Continual low-dose administration of
interferon can delay the regrowth of tumors in some patients for five to ten
years. If nodules resurface, cryoablation, a minimally invasive outpatient
procedure which freezes the tumor cells and kills them can also be used instead
of chemotherapy.
Dr.
Cameron’s team wants to approach mesothelioma care similar to the approach of
treating a chronic disease such as diabetes, holistically and with continuous
support. Given how rare mesothelioma is, Dr. Cameron stresses patients to be
treated at a specialty cancer center like UCLA with experience and ongoing
research in this disease.
To
schedule an appointment with Dr. Cameron at UCLA please call his office at (310)
470-8980.
No comments:
Post a Comment