Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States. In some countries, such as England and Australia, those numbers are much higher. While this form of cancer remains rare in comparison to other types of disease, the threat of developing mesothelioma is very real for those who have worked in jobs that have placed them in contact with asbestos.

What Factors Affect Prognosis?

Mesothelioma is not generally diagnosed until the disease is its latest stages of the development. This is primarily because of the long latency period that is associated with the disease. In many cases, mesothelioma symptoms do not even appear until several decades after the initial asbestos exposure has occurred. As a result, the prognosis for the majority of patients is poor. Once a cancer has reached Stage III or IV, treatment options not only become more limited but less effective as well.

Malignant mesothelioma is typically diagnosed in individuals over 55 years old, though there are certainly exceptions. Because of this, some patients who are diagnosed already have multiple medical problems caused by advancing age, making treatment even more difficult and increasing the mortality rate among mesothelioma patients.

In addition to the stage of the cancer at diagnosis and the age of the patient, other factors that affect prognosis include:

The type of mesothelioma – pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial
The size of the tumor
The location of the tumor and whether it can be surgically removed
The extent of other symptoms, including fluid in the lungs or abdomen
Whether or not the patient is a smoker

Mesothelioma Mortality Rates

Many studies have been conducted in regards to survival rates among mesothelioma patients. When discussing survival rates for this or any type of cancer, references to the "five-year relative survival rate" will often be made. This number refers to the percentage of patients who live at least five years after their cancer is diagnosed. However, in studies involving mesothelioma patients, the figures do not include patients that pass away from diseases other than mesothelioma.

According to statistics published by the American Cancer Society, the five-year relative survival rate for patients with mesothelioma is approximately 10 percent. That number has actually improved in the last five years, up from nine percent reported at the end of 2002. In addition, recent studies show that the one-year survival rate is now about 40 percent, a number that has also gone up in the past five years. Throughout the 1990s, it was rare for a patient to survive more than a year after diagnosis.

Sources:

Mesothelioma News

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