MD Anderson Examines Aggressive Mesothelioma Surgery in Latest Study

A retrospective study involving two decades of pleural mesothelioma patients at the heralded University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center failed to demonstrate a definitive survival advantage to support regular use of extrapleural pneumonectomy surgery. The most aggressive surgery possible for this type of mesothelioma – once the surgery of choice – showed no clear benefit over a more conservative procedure. When compared to the less-aggressive, lung-sparing pleurectomy and decortication surgery, EPP had a much higher perioperative mortality rate and a shorter median survival. “In comparison, we have not been able to demonstrate benefit of this [EPP] approach from an oncological standpoint,” Dr. Boris Sepesi, thoracic surgeon at MD Anderson and study co-author, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “We were hoping to see that when we excluded patients who had early mortality, that there would be a possible benefit in a subgroup of patients with node-negative disease,” he said. “However, that was not true.” The Annals of Thoracic Surgery published the study earlier this month. Other authors include oncologist Dr. Anne Tsao and thoracic surgeon Dr. David Rice, MD Anderson mesothelioma specialists in Houston. Use of EPP Declining at Most Treatment Centers MD Anderson’s status as the No. 1 ranked cancer hospital in America for six consecutive years added considerable weight to earlier, less extensive studies that had reache...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news