Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from dividing.

Chemotherapy may be used in combination with surgery to slow mesothelioma tumor growth and shrink tumors so they are easier to cut out with surgery. It is also used alone in more advanced mesothelioma cases when surgery is inappropriate.

Chemotherapy treatments are most effective when dealing with relatively “young” cancer cells that have not yet formed a solid tumor mass.

When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the spinal column, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy).

Combination chemotherapy is the use of more than one anticancer drug. The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.

Doctors are always learning more about the best way to treat patients with mesotheliomas. The roles of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy in the treatment of mesothelioma are highly debated. Treatments that use some combinations of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, called multimodality therapy, are now being studied and may provide the most promising option for some patients. New chemotherapy drugs are currently being tested in clinical trials, together with other types of treatment.