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Role of Radiotherapy in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

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Mesothelioma

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Abstract

The role of radiotherapy in the management of malignant pleural mesothelioma is still matter of debate. Traditionally, radiotherapy has been used in four possible scenarios: as prophylactic treatment to prevent procedure tract metastases; as palliative treatment for the management of painful lesions; as adjuvant treatment after surgical interventions; and as definitive treatment in inoperable patients with locoregional disease, usually after chemotherapy.

In this chapter, we will describe the pros and cons of radiotherapy in these four different clinical situations. We will also spend some words on technical aspects, particularly, crucial in this critical disease, underlying how the new techniques, like intensity modulated radiotherapy and volumetric modulated arc therapy could improve the results, in term of safety, tolerability, and efficacy of the treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy

    Marta Scorsetti

  2. Radiotherapy and Radiosurgery Department, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, Milan, Italy

    Marta Scorsetti, Davide Franceschini & Fiorenza De Rose

  3. Radiotherapy Department, Cliniche Humanitas Gavazzeni, Bergamo, Italy

    Vittorio Vavassori

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  1. Marta Scorsetti
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  2. Davide Franceschini
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  3. Fiorenza De Rose
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  4. Vittorio Vavassori
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Correspondence to Marta Scorsetti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, Humanitas Gavazzeni Hospital, Bergamo, Italy

    Giovanni Luca Ceresoli

  2. Scientific Direction, Humanitas Gavazzeni Hospital, Bergamo, Italy

    Emilio Bombardieri

  3. Department of Oncology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy

    Maurizio D'Incalci

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Scorsetti, M., Franceschini, D., De Rose, F., Vavassori, V. (2019). Role of Radiotherapy in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. In: Ceresoli, G., Bombardieri, E., D'Incalci, M. (eds) Mesothelioma. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16884-1_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16884-1_14

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