The treating of mesothelioma through conventional means has not yet proved
to be very successful. As such, mesothelioma patients have an average survival
time of 6-12 months after the disease has presented itself. The clinical behavior
of the malignancy is affected by several factors including the continuous
mesothelial surface of the pleural cavity, invasion to underlying tissue and
other organs within the pleural cavity, and the extremely long latency period
between asbestos exposure and development of the disease.
Surgery, either by itself or used in combination with pre- and
post-operative adjuvant therapies has proved disappointing with a 5 year
survival rate of less than 10%. Although mesothelioma is highly resistant to
radiotherapy and chemotherapy, these treatments are sometimes used to relieve
symptoms arising, such as obstruction of a major blood vessel. Treatments
involving immunotherapy have had mixed results.
Alternative forms of treatment and therapy are constantly being researched
due to the lack of success when treating mesothelioma via conventional means.