There are three traditional treatment modalities for mesothelioma: surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The location and the stage of the disease, as well as the patient’s age and general health, will determine which treatment should be utilized. Additionally, these modalities can be combined if indicated. Indeed, the multimodality approach appears to provide the most positive results for treating mesothelioma.

Surgery, the most common treatment, involves the removal of the tumor. In the early stages of mesothelioma, this only involves removal of a section of the mesothelium and surrounding tissue, but may require removing part of the diaphragm as well. For more advanced stages of the disease, removing the entire lung may be the only option, which is known as pneumonectomy.

Radiation therapy, also known as radiotherapy, destroys and shrinks the cancer cells through various types of radiation. Both external (such as a machine) and internal (such as radioisotopes) radiation therapies can be utilized effectively to treat malignant mesothelioma.

Finally, chemotherapy, a systemic treatment modality, uses anticancer drugs to destroy the cancerous cells throughout the body. The majority of drugs used to treat mesothelioma are delivered intravenously. The effectiveness of intracavitary chemotherapy, the process of directly injecting the drugs into the chest or abdominal cavity, is being studied.

Pain and other symptoms caused by fluid build-up around the chest and/or abdomen can be treated by drain excess fluid through a needle or tube. These procedures are known as thoracentesis (chest) and paracentesis (abdomen). Drugs, radiotherapy, and surgery can also relieve or prevent further fluid accumulation.

Physicians are currently studying other treatment modalities, such as immunotherapy, gene therapy, and intraoperative photodynamic therapy.