Many people want to know how long they can live after being diagnosed with mesiothelioma.
The average life expectancy of a mesothelioma patient ranges from 12 to 21 months, depending on the cancer’s stage and treatment outcome. About 40 percent of mesothelioma patients survive one year, and 20 percent live more than two years. Survival rates generated based on patients’ sickness, also reveal a patient’s survival period depends on the specialist and diagnosis. If diagnosis is done at early stages, chances of surviving beyond two years are high.
Below are other factors that determine survival period of a Mesothelioma patient
Stage of Cancer
Staging helps determine how far along a cancer is in its progression. Early stages mean the cancer is small and localized, while late stages mean the cancer has grown and spread to other parts of the body. Small, localized tumors are easier to extract with surgery and easier to shrink with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which translates into a better prognosis. Tumors that have spread are difficult to operate on and bigger tumors don’t respond as well to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Patients diagnosed with stage I or II generally have a better prognosis than patients diagnosed in stage III or IV.
Cell Type
Epithelial cell type carries the best prognosis because they respond best to treatment, while sarcomatoid cells generally do not. Biphasic cells are a combination of the two. Prognosis with this type depends on the ratio of cells present. A higher epithelial cell count improves prognosis. Experts do not know why the epithelial cell type responds better to treatment.
Gender
Statistics show women with pleural mesothelioma have a better prognosis than men because they respond to treatment better. Researchers suspect hormonal differences may play a role in women responding better to treatment. A review of data from the National Cancer Institute shows that 13.4 percent of women with pleural mesothelioma survive for five years, compared with only 4.5 percent of men.
Age
Prognosis is better for younger patients. A younger human body and immune system can better handle the aggressive therapies used to treat cancer than an older body. Younger people tend to have better overall health and physical fitness than the elderly, which helps young people recover from cancer treatment better. Some studies report that patients younger than 50 have a more positive prognosis.
