What Is The Prognosis For Mesothelioma?

The prognosis for malignant Mesothelioma (pleural or peritoneal) remains unfavourable. In part this is probably due to the fact that once mesothelioma has been diagnosed, it is usually at an advanced stage. Also the rarity of the disease in conjunction with the often late stage diagnosis means that reliable data for survival rates is hard to come by.

After Mesothelioma has been diagnosed the generally accepted survival rates are:

• 4 out of 10 (40%) will be alive 1 year later
• 2 out of 10 people (20%) will be alive 2 years later. 
• 1 in 10 (10%) will be alive 3 years later
• 8 out of 100 (8%) will be alive 5 years later.

Early stage treatment of Mesothelioma tends to produce a more desirable prognosis, but total cures remain a rarity even with the advent of newer chemotherapy techniques and multi mode treatments. A patient's age, general health and histological subtype are also predictors of likely prognosis. For example, epithelioid histology produces greater survival related advantages when compared to sarcomatoid histology.