There may be hope for mesothelioma cancer sufferers, who developed the disease due to asbestos exposure, a new study finds.

According to a recent study in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, “Traditional treatments for peritoneal mesothelioma have historically yielded modest survival ranging between 6 and 16 [months] with median survival being approximately one year.” But things are looking up for sufferers of this rare asbestos-related cancer.

Mesothelioma is usually thought of as lung cancer, but it’s not. It’s an aggressive cancer that affects the membrane surrounding the lungs, the abdominal cavity or cardiac cavity.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is cancer in the in the lining around the abdomen, or the peritoneum.

According to the article, “Peritoneal mesothelioma (PM) represents the second most common site of malignant mesothelioma and accounts for 10 percent to 20 percent of reported cases.”

It is this version of mesothelioma that surgeons from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine and the Massey Cancer Center in Richmond are making strides in treating.

Currently, cytoreductive surgery is the only surgical option for patients diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. Also called cytoreduction, or CRS, this is the reduction of cancer cells through removal.

In the new research, surgeons report that increasing use of this surgery in combination with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC, a rinse of heated chemotherapy drugs) has almost doubled survival rates for peritoneal mesothelioma patients in comparison to past treatment options, like debulking or stand-alone chemotherapy.

Dr. Ali Raza, the lead researcher of the study, says this new treatment “has dramatically improved survival outcomes with wide median survival estimates between 2.5 to 9 years.” He points out that there are a number of factors contributing to the wide range of years, such as the exact treatment regiments used and differences in study populations, and that more balanced studies are needed to show true effectiveness of this method.

However, this is not the only study in progress for peritoneal mesothelioma sufferers. Researchers are also looking at molecularly targeted therapy for this disease.

According to the National Cancer Institute, “targeted cancer therapies are drugs or other substances that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific molecules (‘molecular targets’) that are involved in the growth, progression, and spread of cancer.”

In the case of peritoneal mesothelioma, scientists are looking at sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) — the lipid production that this molecule helps regulate has been linked to mesothelioma. This “known action of specific SphK inhibitors,” according to Dr. Raza, “may warrant further exploration in peritoneal disease” as well.

Mesothelioma Diagnosis

Diagnoses of mesothelioma take a long time, with some latency periods of 20 to 50 years from exposure to disease. In most cases, the plaintiffs were affected after using products made by the defendant companies in their occupations from the 1970s. But asbestos has been around, and in use, for thousands of years.

It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century industrial era that asbestos garnered wide-scale use for its resistance to fire, heat, electrical damage, its sound absorption capabilities, and affordability.

Many companies used it, which is why hundreds of companies have been called to the table by mesothelioma sufferers or their families.

To date, the asbestos mesothelioma multidistrict litigation (MDL) is the longest running mass tort in U.S. history. Since 1991, over 3 million claims were transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where the MDL is consolidated. Thousands of asbestos mesothelioma lawsuits still remain in litigation.