Impressive Survival Time for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients

The prognosis for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma has improved considerably in recent years, leaving behind the pessimism that often still engulfs those with pleural mesothelioma. The survival-time gap between peritoneal and pleural — the two most common types of mesothelioma cancer — has grown significantly wider with advances in therapy. According to a recent study done at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the median survival for a peritoneal patient is more than four times that of a patient diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. "The take-home message here is that there is real hope for mesothelioma patients, very clearly for those with peritoneal," Dr. Jill Ohar, pulmonologist at the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center, told Asbestos.com. "This is not a death sentence like people used to think. You can really have a prolonged survival." The Wake Forest team analyzed survival data for 380 cases of mesothelioma diagnosed from 1992 to 2012. The cases were drawn from volunteers, treatment referrals and independent medical evaluations done for legal purposes. There were 303 pleural cases and 77 peritoneal. Two Leading Mesothelioma Types Both types of mesothelioma cancer are caused by exposure to toxic asbestos fibers, which many people continue to inhale or ingest unknowingly. Pleural mesothelioma typically forms on the pleura, a thin lining that surrounds the lungs and chest cavity. Once inhaled, mi...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Research & Clinical Trials Source Type: news