Mesothelioma Prognostic Factors Studied in Long-Term Survivors
The purpose of the prognostic study, published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, was to assess prognostic features in long-term pleural mesothelioma survivors following surgery.
A total of 456 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma were included in the study. The epithelial subtype was observed in 41 percent of participants and non-epithelial subtype was seen in 40 percent.
All patients either underwent an extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), a pleurectomy/decortication (PD) or pleurodesis/biopsy, and follow-up lasted 18 months. Surgical procedures included EPP in 59 patients, PD in 250 patients and pleurodesis/biopsy in 147 patients.
Approximately 9 percent of patients underwent positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, 9 percent received adjuvant radiotherapy and 10 percent received postoperative pemetrexed combination chemotherapy. Typically, malignant mesothelioma will respond to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but these treatments are not able to fully cure the cancer.
The 18-month survival in this study was 28 percent. Prognostic factors associated with the 18-month survivors included: age 65 or younger, presence of malignant pleural effusion and epithelial subtype, adjuvant radiotherapy and postoperative chemotherapy. The data also revealed that epithelial subtype and undergoing an EPP were independently associated with 18-month survivors.
In conclusion, the researchers found “The actual 18-month survival was 28% in 456 pleural mesothelioma patients who underwent operation. Epithelial histologic subtype and EPP were identified as independent predictors for 18-month survivors.”
Additional information about mesothelioma and treatment options may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.
