Mesothelioma Prognosis

The prognosis for people with mesothelioma is generally poor unless they’ve been diagnosed with a treatable form of the cancer. Mesothelioma is a terminal cancer with no known cure, but some people who are diagnosed early and undergo aggressive treatment outlive the average life expectancy of one year.

Prognosis refers to the prospect of recovering from a disease. Doctors largely base their prognosis off of survival rate data, which captures the percentage of people who are alive with a disease one, two and five years after diagnosis.

They also discuss prognosis in terms of life expectancy, or how much the disease might shorten a person’s life span. Life expectancy is usually presented as the number of months or years a person may live with mesothelioma.

The terms prognosis, survival rate and life expectancy are often used interchangeably even though they refer to different aspects of how a disease affects a person’s life. When a patient asks about their prognosis, doctors are aware that what they really want to know is how long they have to live. The average for all types and stages of mesothelioma is about one year.

The four types of mesothelioma are associated with different prognoses. Treatment is available to improve the prognoses of all four types of mesothelioma.

Staging is the most important prognostic factor considered by doctors when providing a patient’s prognosis. Mesothelioma has four stages of progression. A higher stage number indicates the cancer has grown and spread. This means the cancer is progressing and it is correlated with a worse prognosis.

An official staging system exists only for pleural mesothelioma. An unofficial staging system is in the works for peritoneal mesothelioma, and the other two types of mesothelioma have no staging systems. For this reason, prognosis data is not available for every type of mesothelioma at every stage.

The most favorable prognoses are associated with stage 1 and stage 2 mesothelioma. Tumors are generally small and haven’t spread far from where they formed, which makes them easier to operate on. Smaller tumors also respond better to chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Better response to treatment is a major factor that explains why early-stage patients have a better prognosis. Catching the cancer early and treating it aggressively with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy offers the best chance at long-term survival.

The five-year survival rate is 20% for early-stage pleural mesothelioma patients and 52% for early-stage peritoneal mesothelioma patients.

A less favorable prognosis is associated with stage 3 and stage 4 mesothelioma. Tumors spread throughout the chest cavity in these stages, which makes them harder to operate on and less responsive to chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

While some stage 3 patients qualify for surgery, most late-stage patients do not qualify. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy and Tumor Treating Fields therapy help patients live longer, but they rarely offer a chance at long-term survival. Some late-stage patients have lived for many years with mesothelioma because they joined a clinical trial and tried a therapy that worked well for them.

The five-year survival rate for late-stage pleural mesothelioma patients is 8%. Average life expectancy among late-stage peritoneal mesothelioma patients is 26 months.

Other factors that affect a mesothelioma prognosis include the tumor’s cell type, patient age, gender, race and overall health. Favorable factors, such as early stage, are associated with a good prognosis. Unfavorable factors, such as sarcomatoid cell type, are associated with a poor prognosis.

While you can’t control your age, gender, cell type or cancer stage, there are steps you can take to improve your prognosis. Taking action to optimize your health, lifestyle and health care team may help you beat the odds and live longer with mesothelioma.

Working with a mesothelioma expert at a specialized treatment center is the best step you can take to improve your prognosis.

Mesothelioma is rare compared to other cancers. Few doctors have the necessary tools or experience to treat and diagnose mesothelioma effectively.

Mesothelioma specialists understand the intricacies involved in ensuring you have the best possible care. Undergoing the treatments they recommend could help you live longer.

People with early-stage tumors and the epithelial cell type can benefit from a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and other treatments such as radiation, immunotherapy and Tumor Treating Fields. This is called a multimodal approach. It is considered the gold standard for mesothelioma treatment, but only 15% to 20% of patients qualify for this aggressive treatment approach.

Patients who do not qualify for surgery may consider other multimodal plans that combine chemotherapy with Tumor Treating Fields, radiation therapy or immunotherapy.

Patients with late-stage mesothelioma usually benefit the most from palliative treatments. These focus on improving quality of life and controlling mesothelioma symptoms. Though palliative treatments aim to reduce pain and discomfort, they can also extend survival.

The prognosis without treatment is considered poor. Without treatment, pleural patients live an average of eight months and peritoneal patients live around six months.

Clinical trials test new and emerging treatment options. The National Institutes of Health maintains a list of clinical trials for pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma in various phases and in multiple trial sites across the U.S.

Clinical trials are testing new therapies such as immunotherapy drugs, gene therapy techniques and different combinations of treatment. Some long-term survivors credit their survival to joining a mesothelioma clinical trial.

The healthier you are, the better your body can fight cancer. Having good overall health and physical fitness will also help you endure the side effects of treatments. Reducing stress may also improve your health and boost your immune system.

Remission is when a tumor shrinks or disappears from the body. Surgery, chemotherapy, Tumor Treating Fields, radiation therapy and immunotherapy can send mesothelioma into partial or complete remission.

Partial remission is when tumor size is reduced by at least 50%. Some mesothelioma patients have lived for years in partial remission. Complete remission is rare with mesothelioma.

Unfortunately, sooner or later, mesothelioma usually comes back. This is called cancer recurrence. Certain clinical trials specifically look for patients with a mesothelioma recurrence to test innovative new therapies.

Currently, no mesothelioma prognosis includes the possibility of a cure.

As with any type of cancer, the best doctors can hope for is long-term remission. Mesothelioma is a difficult cancer to treat, especially because it is usually caught in a late stage.

You can take inspiration from the stories of mesothelioma survivors who defied the generally poor prognosis for this disease.