Thoracic surgeon Dr. David J. Sugarbaker and researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston have completed a study on extended mesothelioma patient survival times as related to aggressive treatment. The study was published in European Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery and included data from over six hundred patient cases.
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by asbestos fibers. If asbestos fibers or dust is inhaled or ingested, it can begin a cancerous growth in the lung lining or lining of other abdominal cavities. This development takes decades to grow and symptoms are typically not seen until twenty to fifty years after asbestos exposure.
Mesothelioma affects about three thousand Americans each year and an estimated fifteen to twenty thousand worldwide. Following diagnosis, patient life expectancy ranges from six months to several years, averaging eighteen months. Standard mesothelioma treatments, where available, include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Many patients choose palliative treatment to manage breathing and pain so they can gain quality of life without undergoing cancer-direct treatments.
There is no cure for mesothelioma and the case numbers are rising worldwide as asbestos continues to be used. In many developing countries the toxic chemical is used without proper safety precautions. In such countries health care facilities and treatments are minimal. The World Health Organization estimates an increase in global mesothelioma cases to ninety thousand annually if asbestos use is not curbed.
Using records available through International Mesothelioma Patient Registry, Dr. Sugarbaker and his research team found that combination mesothelioma treatments including an extrapleural pneumonectomy were more likely to result in longer patient survival times. An extrapleural pneumonectomy is a procedure specific to mesothelioma treatment and involves removal of cancerous tissue in abdominal cavity linings. Patients receiving such major surgeries underwent removal of a lung, part of the diaphragm and some chest lining tissue.
Patient cases studied included those from 1988 to 2007. Results showed that 18%, or 117 patients, lived at least three years following surgery. This percentage averaged a 59 month survival time, much greater that the average associated with less aggressive treatments.
Of the 117 patients who experienced longer survival times, one third were women and over half had mesothelioma present in the left side of the chest. Overall, extended lifetimes were associated with younger patients.
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