Clinical Characteristics, Treatment and Survival Outcomes in Malignant Mesothelioma: Eighteen Years’ Experience in Turkey

Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an insidious tumor with poor prognosis, arising frommesothelial surfaces such as pleura, peritoneum and pericardium. We here aimed to evaluate the demographic,clinical, and radiological features of patients with MM followed in our center as well as their survival.
Methods:The study included 228 patients (131 male, 97 female) who were followed up in our institution between 1993and 2010 with the diagnosis of MM.
Results: The mean age was 59.1 years in men and 58.7 years in women andthe sex ratio was 1.4:1 in favor of males. Environmental asbestos exposure was present in 86% of the patientsfor a mean duration of 40±20 years (range: 3-70). Pleural effusion and thoracic/abdominal pain were the mostcommon presenting signs and symptoms (70.2% and 57.8%, respectively). One hundred-thirteen (66%) patientswere treated with platinum-based combination chemotherapy (PBCT) plus supportive care (SC) and 67 (34%)patients received SC alone. The median follow-up time was 10.0 months. The median overall survival wassignificantly improved with PBCT plus SC compared to SC alone (11.4 vs. 5.1 months; p=0.005). The 6, 12, 18,and 24-month survival rates were significantly improved with PBCT plus SC compared to SC alone (72%, 43%,19%, and 2% vs. 49%, 31%, 11%, and 1%).
Conclusion: The survival of patients with MM improved in patientstreated with PBCT. The survival advantage continued 12- and 24-month after the initial time of combinationchemotherapy.