Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival Rate Improves Following Cytoreductive Surgery
A study by researchers in Sydney, Australia to evaluate the prognostic factors for survival of peritoneal mesothelioma patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery (surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible) found that cytoreduction can extend a patient’s survival. The average survival time of patients in the study was 30 months, compared with the survival time of between 6 and 14 months after diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma patients.
The researchers also found that additional factors associated with improved survival for peritoneal mesothelioma patients include: the female gender, not smoking, not consuming alcohol, and an epithelioid tumor type. The study evaluated 14 males and 6 females undergoing cytoreductive surgery followed by a heated abdominal chemotherapy wash for peritoneal mesothelioma at the St George Hospital, Sydney.
Peritoneal mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by asbestos exposure and affects the lining of the abdomen. While there are close to 3,000 cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in the United States each year, less than 10% of those are peritoneal. There is no cure for mesothelioma, however, it can be treated with varying degrees of success through the use of surgical procedures, chemotherapy and radiation.
Researchers believe the carcinogenic effect of nicotine, found in smokers, has an adverse effect on the survival. Although they found that alcohol consumption seems to have a strong adverse effect on survival, they did not establish the relationship between alcohol and mesothelioma.
The study found that complete cytoreduction was a key treatment factor associated with improved survival. Patients where most of the tumor was removed in surgery averaged a 15-month disease-free survival rate, compared to seven months for patients whose tumor was more difficult to remove.
Source:
Risk Factors and Clinicopathological Study of Prognostic Factors in the Peritoneal Mesothelioma
