A new radiotherapy technique has been discovered by researchers at the Austin Health Centre in Victoria, Australia. The radiotherapy is said to improve the life expectancy of mesothelioma sufferers, which, sadly, is often around just two years from diagnosis.

For seven years Dr. Malcolm Feigen, an Austin Health Centre Radiation Oncologist, has been researching and developing new mesothelioma treatment techniques which make use of high dose radiotherapy. So far, thirteen patients have been involved in the trial procedures. Dr. Feigan reports that advances in technology and available equipment have allowed the team at the Austin Health Centre to safely increase radiotherapy doses in their mesothelioma patients, and with impressive results.

“… we’ve been very impressed that in most cases there’s a considerable improvement in the activity of the tumour masses that we’ve given high doses of radiotherapy;” Dr. Feigan said, “and most patients have got through the course of treatment with no major side effects and some have had long-term benefits.”

The doctor continued to say that most patients treated exclusively with radiotherapy tend to realize short term benefits before the cancer becomes active again.

“But with radiotherapy it doesn’t come back in the same area and if we find patients early enough we may be able to stop any further developments of their disease,” he added.

Most of the patients involved in the trial treatment had surgery to remove cancerous tumors prior to radiotherapy, which seems to drastically improve the results. Dr. Feigan believes the new radiotherapy treatment in conjunction with other treatments shows plenty of promise, and on average can already give patients another two years to live.

“Some patients go on to have a number of good years before sometimes the tumour comes back in areas that we haven’t been able to give radiotherapy to,” he said.

“Some have had chemotherapy before they see us or afterwards and that does provide an additional benefit, but not always, and we think that most of the symptoms are relieved more effectively by high doses of radiotherapy than these other alternatives.”

A national oncology conference will receive Dr. Feigan next week to present his findings. The doctor hopes to gain some support for his research and encourage other cancer centres to help further his work.

The new treatment has already created somewhat of a stir which has been received by the medical community excitedly, if with some reservation. Professor Ian Olver, the CEO of the Cancer Council of Australia, welcomes further research in this direction and says that the findings to date are promising.

“I think it’s an important finding that radiation has a useful role along with other therapies, not so much on its own, so they’ve really found the niche for radiotherapy in this disease,” Professor Ian Olver said.