Survival Improves for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients in Finland

Survival time improved significantly for peritoneal mesothelioma patients in Finland who underwent a combination of surgery and chemotherapy, according to a recently released study. The five-year survival rate was 66 percent. The median survival was 62 months. According to a smaller, previous study in Finland, the median survival without treatment was just four months after diagnosis. “Despite these advances in treatment…the majority of patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma receive only palliative care of systemic chemotherapy, leaving many eligible patients without the benefit of this more invasive treatment modality,” study authors wrote. Anticancer Research published Finland’s first multicenter nationwide study of peritoneal mesothelioma in its February 2019 issue. The research team was from the University of Helsinki, the Helsinki University Hospital and the department of surgery at Kuopio University Hospital in Kuopio, Finland. “We assessed the effectiveness of the different treatment modalities given to these patients,” the authors wrote. “The aim was to clarify the effectiveness of different modalities on different histological subtypes and in patients exposed to asbestos.” Many Received No Treatment Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused primarily by the ingestion of asbestos fibers. It is the second-most-common form of the disease and begins in the tissue lining of the abdomen. It also is considered more treatable than the more p...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news