A Look at Three Decades of Real-World Mesothelioma Statistics

Despite clinical trials that often produce inflated expectations, real-world survival rates for pleural mesothelioma have failed to advance significantly over the past three decades, according to one recent study in Canada. Celebrated treatment advances have fallen short for the average patient diagnosed with this rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. “This is a story about a lack of progress. What we’ve seen is kind of underwhelming,” Dr. Paul Wheatley-Price, associate professor of medicine at University of Ottawa and thoracic oncologist at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “It does go to show that mesothelioma remains a disease with real unmet needs.” Wheatley-Price co-authored the recent study tracking nearly 30 years of pleural mesothelioma patients at the well-respected Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre in Canada’s capital city. Clinical Lung Cancer published the study earlier this year. The results were presented May 7-9 at the virtual International Mesothelioma Interest Group conference. “We’re interested in generating real-world evidence, which comes directly from the clinic, a what’s-going-on-in-the-trenches picture,” said Wheatley-Price, who also serves as president of Lung Cancer Canada. “There’s been progress, but not all that much.” No Marked Improvement in Overall Mesothelioma Survival The one-institution, retrospective study involved 337 patients from 1991 to 2019 wh...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news