Mesothelioma is terminal cancer, and the prognosis is poor. Approximately 50% of people with this cancer will live a year or more after diagnosis, and only 10% will live at least five years. (NHS.uk). However, there are several factors that affect your mesothelioma life expectancy after diagnosis. Although prognosis is poor, long-term mesothelioma survivors do exist.
So what is the mesothelioma life expectancy after diagnosis? The factors that determine your life expectancy after a cancer diagnosis are:
For pleural mesothelioma patients, below are the average life expectancy figures by stage: (Drugs.com)
Approximately 3,000 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States annually. While there is no cure for mesothelioma, treatment options are advancing as the cancer is better understood by doctors.
Australian researchers have pinpointed a small molecule that is in larger quantities in the blood of people with mesothelioma than in healthy people. Their research could bring scientists another step closer to being able to diagnose the disease sooner. (Sciencedaily.com)
At this time, most doctors diagnose mesothelioma with a lung biopsy with a small sample of lung tissue. But good tissue samples are not always available. This can make the doctor uncertain about the diagnosis of the patient and result in treatment delays. So far, several proteins have been proposed as blood-based markers for pleural mesothelioma. But none of the biomarker tests are accurate enough for regular clinical use.
In the study, researchers explored whether microRNAs in the blood could be a diagnostic marker for the disease. They also studied the Mesomark assay is a blood test that measures a biomarker that is put out by mesothelioma cells into the blood. The biomarker is called Soluble Mesothelin-Related Peptides (SMRP). It can be elevated for years before mesothelioma symptoms appear and you are diagnosed. The possibility of early diagnosis could save lives.
Scientists are also focused on new treatments and drugs to offer hope of a better mesothelioma prognosis. New drugs and procedures that provide more highly targeted radiation to the tumor have enhanced the lifespan of people with asbestos cancer over the last 10 years. Experimental treatments such as gene therapy, immunotherapy, and photodynamic therapy are showing signs of success in treating asbestos cancer.
Patients with pleural mesothelioma generally live a little more than a year, but one out of 10 will live at least five years. Longer term survivors DO exist, so if you have a history of asbestos exposure and you think you may have mesothelioma, speak to your medical care professional immediately. The sooner you are diagnosed, the better your prognosis.
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