Role of Genetic Testing & Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival

Genetic testing may soon become a determining factor in treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma. The recent findings of a retrospective study found a major drop in overall survival and progression-free survival among patients with alterations in the CDKN2A and NF2 genes. The prognostic significance of the two genetic clues could change the way doctors determine a patient's eligibility for major aggressive surgery. Modern Pathology published the study last month. Officials at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta supplied the research. The study involved 86 patients who were previously treated with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC). "The status of these genes has significant prognostic implications," the authors wrote. "Patients with peritoneal mesothelioma harboring these alterations may not benefit from aggressive [surgery], and it warrants additional studies.” A New Staging Tool Oncologists have used various staging systems in the past to identify appropriate surgical candidates, determine treatment regimens and predict prognosis. Those systems use the presence of metastases, extent of tumor burden and individual variables like lymph node involvement, histologic subtype and patient age as factors in determining stage. Adding genetic testing to the staging system would give patients a clearer picture of their future and help avoid major surgery unlikely...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Treatment & Doctors Source Type: news