Medication

New Study Concludes Surgery Alone Leads to the Best Outcome For Peritoneal Mesothelioma

A new study out of the University of Illinois concluded that chemotherapy provided no material improvement in the long term survival of peritoneal mesothelioma patients. The findings apply to chemotherapy performed either before or after cytoreductive surgery.

Cytoreductive surgery, also known as debulking surgery involves removing the abdominal membrane and scraping away as much diseased tissue as possible. Patients who undergo the surgery tend to live four times as long as patients who decline surgery however the new study out of University of Illinois questions the benefits on the pre or post chemotherapy regime.

Based on the report, patients who underwent surgery alone had the greatest chance for survival of any other class of peritoneal mesothelioma patient.

The median survival times of the groups in the study were as follows:

  • No Treatment: 3.6 months
  • Chemotherapy Only: 11 months
  • Surgery Only: 57.4 months
  • Chemotherapy Before Surgery: 52.3 months
  • Chemotherapy After Surgery: 55 months


"No difference in overall survival was noted with the addition of chemotherapy to complete debulking regardless of the timing," concludes lead investigator Samer Naffouje, MD, a surgical oncology research fellow at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "Complete debulking remains the standard of treatment for malignant peritoneal mesothelioma."

It is important to note that although the effectiveness of chemotherapy in conjunction with the surgery provided no benefit, if surgery is not an option then chemotherapy alone was shown to provide a significant increase in survival times.

To view the full report click here.

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