* Mesothelioma Survival Rates
Upon receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis, patients often wonder about the average survival rate for mesothelioma cancer and how long they can live with this disease. Cancer statistics often use a five-year survival rate to represent the percentage of patients who will live for five years or longer after being diagnosed with the cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the average five-year survival rate is 5 to 10 percent for patients with mesothelioma. Current medical research estimates that the average survival time for a mesothelioma patient is between four and 18 months following a diagnosis.
How Staging Affects Survival
The American Cancer Society explains why mesothelioma survival statistics by stage are hard to find, noting, “Because these cancers are not common, it is hard to find accurate survival rates based on the TNM stage of the cancer.” The ACS also states that as a general rule, survival times are longer for patients with operable mesotheliomas than for patients with tumors that have spread to distant locations (metastasis).
- Stage 1: A patient diagnosed with Stage 1 mesothelioma may be a candidate for surgery. If the surgery is successful and the patient responds favorably to additional treatments, their survival may far surpass average survival rates.
- Stage 2: These patients may also be considered for surgery. In Stage 2 the mesothelioma may have spread slightly, but not to locations as distant as Stage 3 or 4. This potential for surgical removal can offer a slight improvement in survival time for some patients.
- Stage 3: Mesothelioma patients in Stage 3 are generally not candidates for surgery and thus present lower survival.
- Stage 4: A patient in Stage 4 usually has no chance for surgical removal of the tumors that have spread throughout the body. This lack of an effective surgical option, among other factors, makes survival time in Stage 4 lower than all other stages.
According to the medical book, “Mesothelioma,” patients who report breathlessness tend to survive longer than patients who report pain, “presumably because the latter have solid tumor present rather than only malignant pleural effusion.”
How Treatment Affects Survival Rate
While there is no cure for mesothelioma, many patients undergo treatment following diagnosis to improve their survival rate. The most popular treatment options utilized by mesothelioma patients include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Other forms of experimental treatment currently include photodynamic therapy, gene therapy and immunotherapy.
Researchers Klerk and Musk found that “Various treatments have been tried, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery… Some of these may lead to temporary improvement in quality of life, and also an apparent increase in survival; however, groups of patients for whom increased survival has been described after various treatments are generally specially selected for treatment and are likely to have survived longer anyway. No treatments have yet been described that would justify Phase 3 trials.”
Mesothelioma patients are increasingly being treated with cancer management therapies since there is no cure for this cancer. For example, a mesothelioma patient diagnosed in the first or second stage of the cancer who responds favorably to surgery may undergo radiation therapy or further surgeries to manage growth and metastasis of the cancer.
Many patients also find hope to improve their survival through participation in a clinical trial.Clinical trials are conducted to test up-and-coming treatments and medications before they are deemed safe and effective for the general public. This allows mesothelioma patients to receive treatment and contribute to the growing body of mesothelioma research that could eventually lead to a cure.
Mesothelioma Type & Survival
The type of mesothelioma, whether pleural, peritoneal, pericardial or testicular, can affect survival time. According to “Asbestos: Risk Assessment, Epidemiology, and Health Effects,” researchers Ribak and Selikoff “reported a mean time of 11.4 months from presentation until death for pleural mesothelioma and 7.4 months for peritoneal mesothelioma in 457 consecutive fatal cases of mesothelioma in asbestos insulation workers.”
Prolonging Mesothelioma Survival Rate
Mesothelioma patients also frequently turn to alternative therapies to prolong their survival. Acupuncture, massage, supplements, meditation and yoga are among the list of alternative therapies that many patients have noted to provide pain relief, reduce stress and increase comfort.
5-Year Relative Survival Rate (Percent)
Year of Diagnosis
1975-1977
10.4%
1978-1980
6.3%
1981-1983
8.2%
1984-1986
7.1%
1987-1989
6.6%
1990-1992
8.5%
1993-1995
7.1%
1996-1998
10.5%
1999-2006
7.7%
Source: SEER Cancer Incidence Report
Reading statistical information about survival rates can be discouraging to mesothelioma patients and their loved ones, but they are purely statistical averages that do not predict each patient's prognosis. According to ACS, “These numbers are based on patients treated at least several years ago. Improvements in treatment since then mean that the survival statistics for people now being diagnosed with these cancers may be higher.”
Source : http://www.asbestos.com
No comments:
Post a Comment