Surgery portion of new mesothelioma treatment plan found effective

Pleurectomy/decortication, a type of surgery involving the removal of the outermost lining surrounding the lungs, was assessed in a study presented at the 2009 European Multidisciplinary Conference in Thoracic Oncology.
A particular kind of surgery performed as a part of a treatment plan intended for patients with malignant mesothelioma was considered successful preceding chemotherapy treatment in a study presented May 3 at the 2009 European Multidisciplinary Conference in Thoracic Oncology.
The surgical method known as a pleurectomy/decortication (a type of surgery involving the removal of the outermost lining surrounding the lungs) was assessed in the study. The study observed the procedure in combination with chemotherapy and radiation in a three-fold treatment approach.
A group of experts, including Dr. Servet Bölükbas and Dr. Horst Schmidt Kliniken, devised the study to check the efficiency of pleurectomy/decortication as the surgical component in malignant pleural mesothelioma treatment rather than pneumonectomy (removal of a lung).
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure. Patients usually exhibit mesothelioma symptoms several decades following initial exposure, permitting the cancer to progress to later developmental stages. A multimodal therapy method using two or more methods of treatment is frequently suggested for mesothelioma patients.
Thirty-five patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma were enrolled in the study over a five-year period from November 2002 through October 2007. Patients underwent the pleurectomy/decortications procedure prior to four chemotherapy sessions (using cisplatin and pemetrexed) and radiation to the chest wall and mediastinum (a group of structures in the thorax) roughly four to six weeks following the surgery. Approximately 94 percent of the patients finished the treatment regimen.
The one year survival rate was 75 percent with a median survival rate of 33.2 months. The two year survival rate was 61 percent with the three year survival rate reported at 43 percent.
The researchers concluded that the use of pleurectomy/decortication as the surgical component in a multimodal treatment plan using chemotherapy and radiation demonstrated positive survival results and morbidity calls for extra testing.

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