Twenty Mesothelioma Patients Undergoes Cytoreductive Surgery

Fourteen males and six females who were diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma underwent cytoreductive surgery which was a study conducted by researchers from Sydney, Australia to assess the effects of cytoreductive surgery in the prognosis for patient's survival. Cytoreductive surgery is the procedure of removing as much tumor as possible from the patient's body. Surgeries were administered at the St. George Hospital, Sydney. After the said surgery, the patients had a heated abdominal chemotherapy wash for peritoneal mesothelioma.

Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of peritoneal mesothelioma which targets the abdominal lining. Asbestos mineral has microscopic fibers, which when ingested or inhaled by humans, have a devastating poisoning impact on the health of humans. In the USA, there are almost 3,000 diagnosed cases of mesothelioma. Of this number, 10% are peritoneal. To date, no cure has been discovered for mesothelioma, but treatments are administered for palliative purposes or to improve the quality of life of the patients. These procedures include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

The general survival time after diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma is six to fourteen months. But as revealed in the study on cytoreductive surgery, patients who underwent the procedure have an average survival time of 30 months. Researchers say that other factors have also contributed to result in an improved survival of the patients such as gender, non-consumption of alcohol, non-smoking and epitheloid type of tumor. Nicotine content in cigarettes were found to have adverse effects on patient's survival. However, the connection between mesothelioma and alcohol was not established.

Through this research, it was established that a major factor for improved survival in peritoneal mesothelioma patients is cytoreductive surgery. Comparison shows that those whose tumor were difficult to remove have an average of seven months of survival while those who had surgery to remove tumors averaged 15 months survival rate.