Study Shows Peritoneal Mesothelioma Surgery Underutilized

The continued underutilization of aggressive surgery for peritoneal mesothelioma is shortening survival time dramatically for patients who could qualify for, and benefit from, the highly effective procedure. Only a third of those diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma are undergoing potentially curative cytoreductive mesothelioma surgery, according to a comprehensive study of the National Cancer Database by researchers at Inova Fairfax Medical Center in Virginia. Annals of Surgical Oncology published the mesothelioma study earlier this year. “Patients who have the surgery perform much better than those who do not. Yet most people do not have surgery,” Dr. Timothy Cannon, medical oncologist at Inova Medical Group and study co-author, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “We’re hoping the study can raise awareness to this paradox.” The research involved 2,062 adult patients registered with the National Cancer Database who were diagnosed with diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer found within the abdominal cavity. Survival Advantage for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Is Dramatic An estimated 400 cases of peritoneal mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States annually. It is typically caused by long-ago exposure to asbestos. Inova’s study found that nonsurgical patients had a median overall survival of just 7.1 months, compared to 38.4 months for surgical patients and 41.8 months for those who also added systemic chemotherapy. ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news