Specialist mesothelioma treatment at GenesisCare

The main symptoms of mesothelioma affecting the lining of the lung are:

• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Extreme tiredness
• Sweating and high temperatures, especially at night
• A persistent cough
• Loss of appetite and weight loss when you're not trying to

See your GP if you’re worried about any symptoms. They’ll refer you for specialist tests if they think you may have mesothelioma.

The tests you have depend on your symptoms, including: 

• An X-ray or CT scan of your chest or abdomen
• Draining any fluid that's built up around your lungs or abdomen to look for cancer cells
• A thoracoscopy or laparoscopy - inserting a tiny camera through a small incision to look inside your lungs or abdomen
• You may have a biopsy at the same time to take a sample to test for cancer

Access to physicians and oncologists who specialise in mesothelioma is essential. We provide a world-class service and personalised approach to help patients with mesothelioma.

Dr Crispin Hiley, Clinical Director for Lung Cancer, GenesisCare UK 

Drug treatments used for mesothelioma are:

• Immunotherapy – medicines that help your immune system recognise and fight cancer.  
• Chemotherapy – anti-cancer medicines that attack cancer cells and shrink tumours

These approaches are each important to the treatment of patients with mesothelioma. The most appropriate therapy depends on the individual patient’s condition.

Our highly trained nurses provide one-to-one care and a 24-hour emergency phone line.

Our medical oncology centres each have the Macmillan Quality Environmental Mark, recognising our dedication to providing high-quality cancer services.

Radiotherapy uses radiation precisely aimed at tumours to destroy cancer cells. Our world-class radiotherapy service for mesothelioma includes groundbreaking treatment options.

Our specialists offer stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for mesothelioma in the lung. This advanced treatment precisely targets cancers with a high dose of radiation. 

SABR radiotherapy:

• Offers treatment in three to eight sessions on alternate days
• Can be delivered at many of our GenesisCare centres across the UK
• May be delivered on the MRIdian Linac if the area that needs to be treated is close to sensitive organs in your chest, such as the airways or heart

Early research on SABR for mesothelioma has shown good outcomes for controlling cancer with limited side effects. ^{1, 2, 3, 4}

For mesothelioma patients who need radiotherapy to a large area of the lungs, standard radiotherapy may be the most appropriate treatment instead. 

Surgery is rarely used to remove mesothelioma. It’s only used if the cancer is at an early stage, and many patients are diagnosed with more advanced diseases. Recent research has indicated patients may be better off without surgery and having other treatments instead. 

Before considering surgery, we highly recommend discussing your options with an oncologist and a mesothelioma nurse. Trials have shown that surgery for mesothelioma is linked to a lower quality of life and shorter survival compared to not having surgery. 

• Cancer Research UK
• Asthma and Lung UK
• Mesothelioma UK
• NHS UK

^{1. Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) as Salvage Therapy for Oligorecurrent Pleural Mesothelioma After Multi-Modality Therapy. Front Oncol. 2019 Sep.}

^{2. Salvage radiotherapy for oligo-progressive malignant pleural mesothelioma. Lung Cancer. 2021 Feb.}

^{3. Managing oligoprogressive malignant pleural mesothelioma with stereotactic body radiation therapy. Lung Cancer. 2021 Jul}

^{4. Clinical outcomes of stereotactic body radiation therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Radiother Oncol. 2024 Feb.}

^{5. Asbestos, carbon nanotubes and the pleural mesothelium: a review of the hypothesis regarding the role of long fibre retention in the parietal pleura, inflammation and mesothelioma. Part Fibre Toxicol. 2010 Mar.}