Treatment options for malignant mesothelioma

New treatments

Gene therapy

Various forms of gene therapy are being investigated for use in malignant mesothelioma; some predict gene therapy will be a key approach to treatment in future. Suicide gene therapy involves genetic manipulation of a virus (such as a common cold virus) so that tumor cells invaded by the virus become susceptible to antiviral drugs and/or to the body's own immune system. This type of gene therapy is useful in localized tumors -- and so has been trialled with some success in early malignant mesothelioma.