Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma Survival Challenges

Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is not as common as other types of rare disease, but it is the most serious form of mesothelioma. It is a very aggressive cancer that resists many treatments. The prognosis for patients who are diagnosed with this deadly cancer is not good and death usually occurs within five to six months after diagnosis. But, fortunately, it is one of the least common forms of mesothelioma that only accounts for approximately 10 percent of the mesothelioma cases diagnosed each year.Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is not as common as other types of rare disease, but it is the most serious form of mesothelioma. It is a very aggressive cancer that resists many treatments. The prognosis for patients who are diagnosed with this deadly cancer is not good and death usually occurs within five to six months after diagnosis. But, fortunately, it is one of the least common forms of mesothelioma that only accounts for approximately 10 percent of the mesothelioma cases diagnosed each year.

Because of the short survival time, it is critical that if you suspect you might be suffering from sarcomatoid mesothelioma seek treatment immediately. Even though sarcomatoid mesothelioma is one of the most difficult forms of disease to diagnose and treat, it is imperative that patients detect the signs early and seek professional help by talking to their doctors about all types of asbestos exposure related illnesses. An accurate diagnosis is extremely important for treatment. Early detection will increase the life- span and also improve the quality of life of sarcomatoid mesothelioma patients.

Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is detected by examination of a section of suspect tissue using a high powered microscope. Biopsy is used to remove a section of the tissue. Because sarcomatoid mesothelioma develops in the same areas of the body and has a similar irregular oval shape as other cancer cells, it is sometimes confused for other cancer cells like sarcomatoid carcinoma and sarcoma.

There are three types of mesothelioma; biphasic, epithelial and sarcomatoid. Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is grouped by the appearance of cells viewed under a microscope. The cells can divide into other types of cancerous mesothelioma cells called:

Acinar cellClear cellSmall cell Tubopapillary cell

If you or your loved one has been diagnosed with sarcomatoid mesothelioma, you must seek legal advice and compensation. Contact a mesothelioma attorney who is knowledgeable in sarcomatoid mesothelioma and specializes in asbestos exposure lawsuits. A mesothelioma lawsuit can help victims of asbestos exposure and family members get compensation for their medical expenses, emotional suffering, lost income, and other sarcomatoid mesothelioma survival challenges.

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Researchers report aspects of mesothelioma survival rates

On November 5, 2010, the Journal of Thoracic Oncology reported a study done by University of Rochester researchers looking for significant factors associated with longer life expectancy of mesothelioma patients. Spanning decades of case studies, researchers found several factors associated with life expectancy and survival rates of mesothelioma victims.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer with no known cure. Aggressive mesothelioma treatments include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and rehabilitative therapies. A combination of treatments is typical for mesothelioma cases. However, many mesothelioma patients choose palliative treatments rather than fighting the cancer directly. Palliative care focuses on pain management and quality of life.

Mesothelioma cancer is specific to the lining of lungs and other abdominal cavities. Most typically associated with the toxic chemical asbestos, mesothelioma can begin to develop after asbestos fibers are inhaled. These fibers begin a mutation process which results in growth and spread of irregularly patterned tumors.

Development times for mesothelioma are characteristically long. Often patients do not demonstrate signs or symptoms until decades after exposure to asbestos. Many mesothelioma patients have no idea they were exposed to the toxic fibers until they have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and the symptoms are easily assumed to be that of pneumonia or other treatable respiratory illnesses. These factors make mesothelioma difficult to detect early.

The study by University of Rochester looked at 9,701 mesothelioma cases diagnosed between 1973 and 2006. Results proved survival rates dropped drastically as time extended from original diagnosis. Survival rates were 55% after six months, 33% after one year and 5% after five years.

Factors proving positive in patient survival were varied. Female patients and patients in younger years had longer life expectancies. Tumor grade and histology also played a part in survival rates with lower tumor grade and epithelioid histology (a more common structure of mesothelioma cells) being associated with higher survival rates. Cancer-direct surgery and radiotherapies also proved to have greater impact on patient’s potential for longer life.

The Department of Radiation Oncology at James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading research institutes in cancer and radiation technology. Their mission “is to cure cancers when possible while always aiming to improve the quality of life of patients, to advance the science of cancer therapy through clinical and basic research, and to train young oncologists to carry these goals forward.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 14th, 2010 at 6:35 AM and is filed under General, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Study shows palliative care extends survival

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a report composed by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital which advocated palliative care treatment as a method of survival extension. The study, lead by Dr. Jennifer Temel, stated that “integrating palliative care early in the treatment of patients with advanced lung cancer not only improved their mood and quality of life, it also extended their lives.”

Dr. Temel believes that similar studies in other care facilities could help doctors to better understand the potential roles for palliative care regimens in many types of cancer, including mesothelioma.

Pleural mesothelioma, a rapidly progressing and aggressive cancer of the lining of the lung is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. While the disease is relatively rare in comparison to other common health issues, it affects the families of some three thousand Americans each year. Mesothelioma is a terminal cancer with a prognosis which rarely exceeds eighteen months of survival. As such, the vast majority of mesothelioma patients receive primarily palliative care.

Palliative care refers to treatment methods aimed at increasing patient comfort without attacking the cancer itself. Often, mesothelioma patients are too weak to survive radical treatments intended to injure or eradicate malignant tumors. Additionally, the aggressive, recurring nature of the cancer has proven incredibly resistant to curative treatment approaches. In most cases a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are used to control pain, stop bleeding, reduce swelling, and destroy malignant tissues responsible for discomfort. Palliative care works to improve a patient’s quality of life, and to ensure comfortable end of life care.

Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Thoracic Cancer specializes in palliative care treatments. The center delivers “individualized, compassionate care and the most advanced treatments for patients with thoracic cancers,” which include thymoma, lung cancer, esophageal cancer and mesothelioma among others. Massachusetts General Hospital staff are renowned for their exceptional care of both mesothelioma and lung care patients. Dr. Temel’s recent contribution to The New England Journal of Medicine contends that palliative care may provide more complicated benefits than previously believed.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 7th, 2010 at 4:26 AM and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Study reveals factors in mesothelioma survival

A study published last quarter in The American Surgeon provides new insight on some of the factors which may influence peritoneal mesothelioma survival rates. The study was performed by researchers in Sydney, Australia, and included twenty patients treated for the rare cancer at the University of South Wales Department of Surgery between 1997 and 2008.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. The cancer attacks the mesothelial lining of the abdominal organs where it caused fluid buildup, tumors, bowel obstruction, and other serious problems. In time, the disease spreads to the organs themselves, causing organ failure and death. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a terminal cancer whose treatments aim at reducing pain and discomfort while increasing quality of life and survival time.

The patients were selected for the study due to the similarity of their disease’s stage, and because each of them received nearly identical treatments. Each patient underwent surgery to remove tumors and malignant tissues, after which they were administered a heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy regimen. The chemotherapy treatment was comprised of two drugs thought to be more effective acting in tandem, cisplatin and doxorubicin, and was applied directly to the site of the removed tumor after being warmed to improve absorption. All but one of the patients recovered from the treatment.

The study consisted of observing the recovery of each patient in light of their distinguishing characteristics in terms of age, gender, lifestyle and more. The average survival was thirty months after surgery, with individual survival rates ranging from as low as four months. The results were certainly interesting, although the researchers were quick to note that they are still preliminary.

Age and gender played important roles in survival, with women surviving an average of three times longer than men after treatment and, unexpectedly, patients under fifty five years old surviving just a third of the time that older patients did. Researchers believed that the women who participated in the study may have been afflicted with less aggressive tumors. They also noted that incidents of cancer in younger patients may indicate the disease was more aggressive in the first place, making it able to overcome a relatively healthy immune system.

Whether or not the patients were smokers had a serious impact on survival as well. Non-smokers, on average, remained relatively free of malignant cell growth for eleven months after surgery, while smokers redeveloped cancerous tissues just four months after their tumors were removed. Cigarette smoking introduces a variety of known carcinogens into the body, which probably accounts for the faster return of malignant cells in some patients.

Drinking alcohol and a history of regular drinking also affected survival rates, with non-drinkers surviving far longer than regular drinkers after initial treatment. The researchers were unsure why drinking alcohol would impact survival and hope to better understand the phenomena after fully analyzing the results of the study.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 13th, 2010 at 7:32 AM and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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