Evaluation of surgical treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma of death cases in Japan

Abstract

Objective. We previously reported the outcome of surgical treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) of death cases in Japan. Here, we evaluated the outcome of surgical treatment for 5 years.
Subjects. Among the 4,860 mesothelioma death cases extracted from the document “Vital Statistics of Japan” for 2003-2007. We reviewed 131 cases undergoing surgery out of 679 cases. Results. The 122 men and 9 women had a mean age of 62 years old. Histological diagnosis was as follows: 64 cases had the epithelioid type, 31 cases the biphasic type, and 24 cases the sarcomatoid type. According to staging of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group, 33 cases had stage I+II disease, 62 cases stage III, and 13 cases stage IV. The 89 cases underwent extrapleural pneumonectomy, 6 cases pleurectomy/decortication, and 36 cases tumor resection. Sixty-three cases received adjuvant therapy. The median overall survival time was 12.0 months. On multivariable analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model, the age, pathological type, and adjuvant therapy were prognostic factors. Conclusion. Adjuvant therapy may improve surgical success.