Mesothelioma Patients Live Longer After Aggressive Cancer Surgery

Aggressive pleurectomy/decortication surgery, while often recommended, will cause a significant decrease in pulmonary function with early-stage mesothelioma patients whose symptoms were previously minimal. More symptomatic patients with advanced disease will experience an improved quality of life and a preservation of their current pulmonary status after the same surgery. Those findings were reported in a study from the Department of Surgery, Division of Oncology at the University of Chicago Medical Center, raising questions about aggressive surgery for the early stages of mesothelioma. "Some of the results might be a little unexpected," renowned cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran, told asbestos.com. "They gave us something to look closer at. They didn't change our thinking." The study was published last month in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Performance Status Is Key The P/D surgery involves the removal of the pleural lining around the lungs, as well as any visible tumors on the lungs or surrounding areas. The surgery also often involves partial or complete resection of the diaphragm, which is rebuilt with prosthetics. The study included 36 mesothelioma patients at the University of Chicago Cancer Center, all of whom had the P/D surgery performed by Vigneswaran, one of the country's leading thoracic surgeons. He also is well known for his expertise in thoracic organ transplants. There were 17 patients with a performance status (PS) of 0 at the time of surgery,...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Treatment & Doctors Source Type: news