People recently diagnosed with mesothelioma can be overwhelmed by the information they are bombarded with. And they may be discouraged when reading about the relatively low mesothelioma survival rate. But the truth is, there’s no kind of cancer that somebody hasn’t survived (often many somebodies), so there is no reason whatsoever for someone who has malignant mesothelioma to give up.
Mesothelioma survival rates are influenced by many factors. One of the main factors with mesothelioma is that the disease takes years – and sometimes decades – to develop, and so it is often in an advanced stage before it is diagnosed. In situations where malignant mesothelioma is caught unexpectedly (such as during studies of the chest cavity due to an unrelated problem), the outlook is much more positive. That’s one of the main reasons why researchers are working diligently on new tests that can detect the disease much earlier. The Mesomark blood test is making progress in the earlier diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma, which gives patients and doctors many more treatment options and a much greater success rate in shrinking and surgically removing tumors.
The mesothelioma survival rate is much greater than the average in some patients. There have been many pa tients who survive well beyond the common one-year prognosis, and some who have been cured and who have been found to have no trace of malignant mesothelioma several years after treatment. Medical professionals can’t always explain why this is the case, but they are studying these survivors for clues to their enhanced longevity. One common thread with survivors of pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma is an immune system that is stimulated so that the body itself fights the disease. Many cured patients and long-term survivors have participated in immune system therapy clinical trials.
Doctors do know that asbestos exposure does eventually somehow cause a person’s immune “surveillance” system, and this leads to lung cancer. Therefore, researchers are trying to develop treatments that strengthen the immune system so that it can stabilize and in some cases overcome the disease altogether. Immune system function is currently the most prevalent theory as to why some people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma are able to beat the disease. The combination of diagnostic tests that can spot the disease earlier, and medical stimulation of the patient’s own immune system are two keys to defeating malignant mesothelioma.
One outspoken survivor of peritoneal mesothelioma is an Australian named Paul Kraus, who was diagnosed in 1997. Mesothelioma of the abdominal cavity (peritoneal mesothelioma) is even tougher to fight than pleural mesothelioma. Kraus was exposed to asbestos for 35 years during which he worked in a factory. After being diagnosed with mesothelioma, Kraus made drastic changes in his lifestyle, becoming a vegetarian, and adding numerous dietary supplements to his daily routine. He also began drinking many types of juices and underwent ozone therapy. With ozone therapy, the blood is taken from a vein, passed through a machine to add ozone (Ozone is a molecule made of three oxygen atoms.), and then reintroduced to the body. The theory behind ozone therapy is that cancer cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment.
Was Kraus just lucky, or was he onto something? There’s no definitive proof, but Kraus far outlived any prognosis, even though the malignant mesothelioma remained and he has become somewhat weakened in the years since he was diagnosed. He also reports that he has no pain, and that doctors see no reason why he couldn’t survive many more years. Doctors of other long-term mesothelioma survivors hypothesize that a reaction called a “host inflammatory response” could be responsible for spontaneous regressions in people who beat mesothelioma, again pointing to the importance of the immune system in defeating the disease.
Because mesothelioma survival rates are closely tied to earlier diagnosis, people suspected of having the disease undergo many clinical and radiological tests, as well as a medical history and history of exposure to asbestos. Lung function tests, and x-rays of the chest and / or abdomen are performed, as are CT scans and MRI scans. If any of these non-invasive tests indicate the possibility of mesothelioma, then a biopsy is done to confirm or rule out the disease.
In patients with a history of asbestos exposure and with pleural effusion (excess fluid collecting in the space around the lungs), positron emission tomography, or PET scans are becoming more important in diagnosis of mesothelioma. These scans are very expensive, but they are considered to be the best in terms of determining the stage of mesothelioma. Those recently diagnosed with mesothelioma who may be eligible for a multi-faceted treatment approach are often given an integrated CT / PET imaging study, which is the imaging study of choice when it comes to learning how effective surgical excision will be.
In some cases, needle biopsy of a suspicious mass in the chest cavity or the abdominal cavity can be used for diagnosis, but with pleural mesothelioma, open pleural biopsy is often recommended. For this procedure, the surgeon makes a small incision to insert a thoracoscope (a thin, lighted tube) between two ribs and removes a tissue sample. A pathologist will then review the tissue sample to classify it. In cases of suspected peritoneal mesothelioma, a similar procedure is done with a tube called a peritoneoscope inserted into the abdomen. If there is fluid built up in the abdomen, the doctor can use a needle to aspirate the excess fluid (which will be examined by pathologists) in a procedure called paracentesis.
Mesothelioma survival rates depend on accurate diagnosis, and any findings picked up on an imaging test are confirmed or otherwise classified through pathological reports. Because mesothelioma symptoms such as pleural effusion, chest pain, or shortness of breath are often the symptoms that send patients to the doctor in the first place, doctors often find that if the disease is indeed mesothelioma, it has begun to spread, usually to nearby lymph nodes.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the use of a technique called video-assisted thoracic surgery, or VATS, has become much more widely used in diagnosing mesothelioma. It is a technique that allows surgeons to perform biopsies of pleural lining, masses, pleural fluid, and nodules using a minimally invasive technique. At the same time, it is often possible for surgeons to perform therapies such as pleurodesis, which is a treatment for pleural effusion.
With VATs, the patient is put under general anesthesia, and several small incisions are made through the chest wall, through which the surgeon inserts a tiny camera. While the camera “scope” is inserted into one incision, surgical instruments are inserted into other incisions to take out tissue samples. A video screen shows exactly what the camera picks up, and the surgeon can often do some treatment procedures at that same time. VATS is often able to be done instead of the older thoracotomy technique, which involves a much larger incision into the chest cavity. With VATS, the patient has less pain, and a shorter recovery period.
Mesothelioma survival rates are dependent on the skills of the pathologists who examine any tissues or fluid that are biopsied. Most hospitals have their own pathology labs with board-certified pathologists, and the findings of the pathology labs are the key to an accurate diagnosis, which is crucial to an effective treatment plan. Some hospital and cancer treatment centers have on staff pathologists who are highly trained in specialties such as the diagnosis of mesothelioma.
Another factor in mesothelioma survival rates is accurate determination of the stage of the cancer. If the cancer cells are confined to the pleural space it is considered localized. It is considered advanced if it has spread to the lungs themselves, the abdominal cavity, chest wall, or the lymph nodes. Doctors must also rule out other types of cancer. In mesothelioma, the “other cancer” that must often be ruled out is adenocarcinoma. Pathologists have special procedures with tissue samples that allow them to be preserved indefinitely in such a way that tiny slices of tissue can be sliced off and tested in various ways with different stains to determine the diagnosis.
Other pathological tests include immunohistochemistry. This technique identifies cell types depending on which antibodies bind to certain parts of the cell. This technique is how pathologists tell whether a tumor is mesothelioma, adenocarcinoma, or some other type of cancer.
Immunohistochemistry is defined as “a method of analyzing and identifying cell types based on the binding of antibodies to specific components of the cell”. It is this process that helps diagnose mesothelioma versus adenocarcinoma (or other types of cancer). In the first decade of the 21st century, researchers have found cell markers that are specific to mesothelioma, and these have made the diagnosis more accurate.
Mesothelioma survival rates are increasing, and they will increase more as earlier diagnostic tests are developed and as treatments involving the patient’s immune system become more fine-tuned. It takes three to six months from the first doctor visit with complaints about breathing problems or pain to be diagnosed with mesothelioma. Anyone with exposure to asbestos should make their doctor aware of that fact even if there are no symptoms of mesothelioma because as earlier diagnostic tools are developed it may someday be possible to diagnose the disease before it results in symptoms, and that will result in a big improvement in mesothelioma survival rates.
Oncologists, or cancer doctors, who have some experience with mesothelioma will be able to work with the patient and other members of the medical team to create a treatment plan that will maximize the patient’s chances of surviving the disease. For many mesothelioma patients, clinical trials are a real option, and there are many clinical trials going on at any time dealing with the disease in various stages. Some clinical trials are for people who have not had any other previous treatment, and some are for those who have had other treatments that have not helped. But regardless of the stage of cancer a malignant mesothelioma patient has, the chances of long term survival are improving slowly but surely.