Doubts over asbestos cancer chemo. BBCnews, May 15, 2008. Chemotherapy treatments which aim to prolong patients’ lives and reduce suffering from asbestos-related cancer do not work, UK researchers suggest. Mesothelioma, caused by asbestos exposure, is usually incurable, but some specialists hope chemo could delay death and improve quality of life. The study in the Lancet found hundreds of patients saw no benefit. [ Ver ]. Thelancet paper: Chemotherapy does not appear to improve survival or quality of life for mesothelioma patients. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, and is almost always fatal. The addition of chemotherapy to active symptom control for people with mesothelioma does not appear to improve their survival or quality of life, state the authors of a research Article. >>