Aggressive Mesothelioma Surgery Benefits More Patients

Patients diagnosed with the worst cases of pleural mesothelioma could benefit the most from the aggressive surgery they often are denied, according to one recent study. The findings have raised questions about the restrictive surgery selection process at many specialty centers handling mesothelioma, the rare and aggressive cancer caused by asbestos exposure. “In some cases, patients are not being offered the aggressive surgery that could help their quality of life,” lead author Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran, mesothelioma specialist and chief of thoracic surgery at the Loyola University Medical Center, told Asbestos.com. “Our findings showed that this subgroup of patients could be helped with surgery.” The World Journal of Surgery published the results of the 2017 study, which was conducted by doctors and researchers at Loyola and the University of Chicago Medical Center. “The findings kind of surprised us,” Vigneswaran said. “This needs to be considered when it comes to offering surgical treatment. These patients can benefit.” Sicker Patients Improved the Most The study was based on 114 patients who underwent pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) surgery in Chicago from 2008 to 2015. They were given health assessments prior to surgery and again at the different intervals of 1, 4-5, 7-8 and 10-11 months after surgery. Researchers found the sickest patients at baseline, which are those with larger tumor volume and nonepithelial histology (usually not surgical candidates), sh...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Aggressive Mesothelioma Surgery asbestos exposure Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran epithelial mesothelioma epithelioid histology extrapleural pneumonectomy Loyola mesothelioma program Loyola University Medical Center mesothelioma Chicago mesotheli Source Type: news