Against Mesothelioma Chemotherapy intraoperative hyperthermic

Against Mesothelioma Chemotherapy intraoperative hyperthermic

The use of heat to fight cancer. The complex structure of Thoracic Surgery Hospital Carlo Poma, directed by John Muriana, provides patients with pleural mesothelioma the best loco-regional treatment is now recognized by the scientific community, and which makes use of surgery and the recent introduction of perfusion hyperthermic intraoperative chemotherapy (HIOC). This technique is the subject of a memorandum prepared by Andrea Droghetti, surgeon of the structure of Poma and his colleague, Yasunori Matsuzaki hospital Miyazaki (Japan) in collaboration with the Oncological Referral Center of Aviano. The tumor cells are subjected to elevated temperatures ("hyperthermia") able to determine the death. This phenomenon has been discovered since the 60s. Numerous studies have also shown that hyperthermia is able to potentiate the therapeutic activity of many cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents, including cisplatin, and increase penetration in neoplastic tissues and consequently the effectiveness. The hyperthermic intrapleural chemotherapy consists in "washing" of the pleural cavity remaining after surgery by perfusion with cisplatin resulted in a temperature of 41-42 ° C for 60 minutes.

The Company Carlo Poma, to support this important project, has now acquired four years ago by the machine perfusion intracavitary Performer of the latest generation that allows you to perform chemotherapy at 42 ° C at the end of surgery. Several individuals have been hyperthermic chemotherapy for pleural mesothelioma is that for selected cases of pleural carcinomatosis, with excellent results in survival and quality of life and without observing the immediate or late complications. The Thoracic Surgery at the Poma is home, just for the experience gained in this area, providing refresher courses / training for medical staff (surgeons-anesthesiologists) and nurses from around the country to spread a valuable therapeutic practice as hyperthermic chemotherapy intraoperatively. The professionals of the Hospital are at the forefront of the fight against cancer providing cancer patients with the best treatments available today in the international arena.

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma is a serious form of cancer related to exposure, for professional reasons or for proximity to asbestos fibers, known more commonly as asbestos. Although this disease can still be defined as rare as it affects two males per hundred thousand every year, there has been a progressive increase in incidence in the Italian population as to cause concern that the problem Mesothelioma is intended to take much bigger in the coming years. Italy has unfortunately been one of the major producers and users of asbestos until the 80s, and despite the use of asbestos was finally banned in 1992, the Italian population today suffers the consequences of significant levels of exposure of the 50s 'in the areas of industrial production of asbestos-cement, shipbuilding, railway and general construction. Almost all of the cases has a long latency of 15-45 years for which analysts predict a spike in cases around 2020, with a subsequent decline. The age group most affected is between 40 and 60 years for men in 60 percent of cases.  It is a neoplasm characterized by highly aggressive and resistant to common therapies, resulting in significant mortality, in fact, from the moment of diagnosis, the average survival if not treated, is reported to be 7.7 months (range 1-72). For all these features the pleural mesotheliomas should be treated in a few specialized centers, where all the different experiences and skills essential: the thoracic surgeon medical oncologist, radiation oncologist at. The treatment of choice for localized forms is in the first instance and provides for the surgical excision of the lung and pleura. Yasunori Matsuzaki (Myazaki-Japan) and David J. Sugarbaker (Boston - USA) have recently shown that intraoperative hyperthermic chemotherapy (HIOC) get a better loco-regional control of the disease with a drastic reduction in the incidence of recurrence, often the cause of death, ranging from 67 per cent followed by traditional treatments, to 34 percent after HIOC.