SMART Approach Is Advancing Mesothelioma Survival Rates

Accelerated high-dose radiation just before extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery — a reversal of the traditional order at most U.S. specialty centers — continues to produce impressive results for pleural mesothelioma patients in Toronto. Specialists at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Toronto General Hospital estimated the median overall survival and disease-free survival at 51 and 47 months, respectively, for patients with the most common subtype of the disease. Surgeon Marc de Perrot presented the findings of an ongoing study earlier this year at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery in Seattle. His report also included a three-year survival rate of 66 percent among patients with the epithelial subtype and no lymph node involvement. That’s double the normal rate for a trimodality approach to treatment. For those with lymph node involvement, there was a three-year survival of 48 percent. Toronto Is Leading the Charge The cancer center in Toronto is the first in the world to study a large number of patients using the Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy (SMART) approach to treatment. The Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle is the only U.S. center using the protocol and reported impressive results in a much smaller sample. Toronto’s study evaluated 62 patients from November 2008 to October 2014. All received a five-day dose of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) followed with the aggressive EPP surgery. Less than half of ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Treatment & Doctors Source Type: news