Research Paper Mesothelioma
Prognosis The thing that make mesothelioma such a devastating disease is the fact that there is currently no cure. Despite significant strides in research and treatment methods, the prognosis is generally poor in comparison to other types of cancers. While the length of survival has steady increased in the recent years, the average survival time is quite short. However, a prognosis is dependent on multiple factors and that does lead to many prognoses differing from the average.
The type of mesothelioma plays a large part in the prognosis. Peritoneal mesothelioma has a prognosis with an average of one year but with current treatment methods, the survival length can be up to five years or greater. There are a few cases of people living over …show more content…
a decade with this type of the cancer. Pleural mesothelioma has a poorer prognosis and the survival length typical ranges from six months to two years. Testicular mesothelioma is very rare but has a similar but slightly better prognosis than pleural mesothelioma with a survival length averaging around two years. However, due to the rarity of this type of mesothelioma, there isn't a solid survival average available. Out of the all the types of mesothelioma, pericardial mesothelioma has the worst prognosis due to usually not being diagnosed until the later stages of the cancer.
It's not only the location of the mesothelioma that factors into the prognosis but also the cell type involved.
Most cases are epithelial and this cell type is the easiest to treat. Although rare, when sarcomatoid cells are involved, the prognosis is the poorest because they're difficult to treat and are linked to more aggressive cancer. A mixture of the two, call biphasic, has a poorer prognosis than epithelial but the prognosis is better than sarcomatoid.
The stage of the mesothelioma also has a large impact on the prognosis. If caught in the earlier stages, the prognosis is generally more favorable because there are more treatment options available. Once the cancer progresses past of the point of being operable or has spread to other parts of the body, the length of survival shortens drastically.
Gender, exposure, age can make prognoses vary widely between people. Women tend to have a better prognosis with a longer survival time than men. It's thought that this is due both to hormonal differences between genders and the form of exposure to asbestos. Men usually have had direct exposure to asbestos while women have secondhand exposure and this may play a part on the severity of the disease. Those who develop mesothelioma without having been exposed to asbestos generally have a better prognosis. Mesothelioma diagnosed at younger age has a better prognosis because the body typically more healthy overall and can handle more extensive treatment than what would be possible
with someone older.
The prognosis for mesothelioma looks grim but the averages are not solid indicators of the outlook for every patient. There are so many factors that go into determining the prognosis that survival lengths can greatly fall short of or exceed the averages that a prognosis is based on.
The type of mesothelioma plays a large part in the prognosis. Peritoneal mesothelioma has a prognosis with an average of one year but with current treatment methods, the survival length can be up to five years or greater. There are a few cases of people living over …show more content…
a decade with this type of the cancer. Pleural mesothelioma has a poorer prognosis and the survival length typical ranges from six months to two years. Testicular mesothelioma is very rare but has a similar but slightly better prognosis than pleural mesothelioma with a survival length averaging around two years. However, due to the rarity of this type of mesothelioma, there isn't a solid survival average available. Out of the all the types of mesothelioma, pericardial mesothelioma has the worst prognosis due to usually not being diagnosed until the later stages of the cancer.
It's not only the location of the mesothelioma that factors into the prognosis but also the cell type involved.
Most cases are epithelial and this cell type is the easiest to treat. Although rare, when sarcomatoid cells are involved, the prognosis is the poorest because they're difficult to treat and are linked to more aggressive cancer. A mixture of the two, call biphasic, has a poorer prognosis than epithelial but the prognosis is better than sarcomatoid.
The stage of the mesothelioma also has a large impact on the prognosis. If caught in the earlier stages, the prognosis is generally more favorable because there are more treatment options available. Once the cancer progresses past of the point of being operable or has spread to other parts of the body, the length of survival shortens drastically.
Gender, exposure, age can make prognoses vary widely between people. Women tend to have a better prognosis with a longer survival time than men. It's thought that this is due both to hormonal differences between genders and the form of exposure to asbestos. Men usually have had direct exposure to asbestos while women have secondhand exposure and this may play a part on the severity of the disease. Those who develop mesothelioma without having been exposed to asbestos generally have a better prognosis. Mesothelioma diagnosed at younger age has a better prognosis because the body typically more healthy overall and can handle more extensive treatment than what would be possible
with someone older.
The prognosis for mesothelioma looks grim but the averages are not solid indicators of the outlook for every patient. There are so many factors that go into determining the prognosis that survival lengths can greatly fall short of or exceed the averages that a prognosis is based on.