Surgeons Say Three in Five Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients Miss Out on Life-Extending Surgery, According to Surviving Mesothelioma
Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) May 29, 2014 -- A new study of more than 1,500 patients with peritoneal mesothelioma finds that nearly 62 percent of them are not being given the surgical treatment that could dramatically improve their survival. An article on the research has just been posted on the Surviving Mesothelioma website. Click here to read it now.
Surgical oncologists at the Medical College of Wisconsin used the SEER database to examine the survival statistics of peritoneal mesothelioma patients diagnosed between 1973 and 2010. They found that the 39 percent who had surgery survived about four times longer than patients who did not have surgery.
“The opportunity to improve patient survival with surgical therapy is lost in a significant number of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma patients,” concludes research resident John Miura, MD, the study’s lead author.
The study, which appears in a recent issue of the Annals of Surgical Oncology, also found that peritoneal mesothelioma patients who had surgery after 2006 had a higher rate of survival than those who were operated on in the 90’s.
“This is important news for peritoneal mesothelioma patients considering their treatment options,” says Surviving Mesothelioma Managing Editor Alex Strauss. “Not only does surgery appear to improve survival, but this study also suggests that it may be safer now than it used to be.”
To read the details of the new study, including survival comparisons for earlier and more recent surgeries, see Mesothelioma Survival Impacted by Lack of Surgery, available now on the Surviving Mesothelioma website.
Miura, JT et al, “Current Trends in the Management of Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma”, May 14, 2014, Annals of Surgical Oncology, Epub ahead of print, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24841356
For nearly ten years, Surviving Mesothelioma has brought readers the most important and ground-breaking news on the causes, diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma. All Surviving Mesothelioma news is gathered and reported directly from the peer-reviewed medical literature. Written for patients and their loved ones, Surviving Mesothelioma news helps families make more informed decisions.
Michael Ellis, Cancer Monthly, http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com, +1 (919) 570-8595, [email protected]
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