Study: Elderly Mesothelioma Patients Denied Valuable Survival Time

Almost two-thirds of the elderly patients being diagnosed with mesothelioma are dying without receiving any cancer-related treatment that could significantly extend survival. Median survival is just 4.1 months, according to the first extensive study of mesothelioma patients 80 years or older. The Annals of Surgical Oncology published the recent study, authored by mesothelioma specialists at five highly rated medical facilities. “Too many elderly patients are being denied valuable survival time,” Dr. Charles B. Simone II, chief medical officer at the New York Proton Center and co-author of the study, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. Chemotherapy Makes a Difference The study included 4,526 newly diagnosed patients from the National Cancer Database that were at least 80 years old and had nonmetastatic pleural mesothelioma. Of those patients, 63% were only “observed” by their physicians, according to the study. The 22% who received just chemotherapy had a median survival of 9.5 months, more than double of those who did not receive any treatment. “Given the dramatic survival difference in this study, and given that several prior randomized trials have shown that chemotherapy actually improves symptoms and/or quality of life, I strongly encourage patients — regardless of age — to at least explore cancer-directed therapies,” Simone said. Simone suggested that elderly patients discuss mesothelioma treatment possibilities with their medical oncologist. ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news