Could Muscle Loss Predict Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival?

According to new research, it appears that losing muscle as a result of aging may actually be a predictive component for ascertaining peritoneal mesothelioma survival post-surgery. These findings come by way of research conducted by a team at the Lyon-Sud Hospital Center in Lyon, who argue that their research demonstrates a connection between aging-related muscle loss and how long peritoneal mesothelioma patients survive after having cytoreductive surgery.

What the Study Findings Suggest, and What It May Mean for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients

According to the study, survival rates improve for patients who have less aging-related muscle loss when electing to undergo cytoreductive surgery. To understand why this may be the case, it is important to remember that peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer that grows within the abdomen of the patient.

As with all other forms of mesothelioma such as pleural mesothelioma, there is no known cure for peritoneal mesothelioma. However, cytoreductive surgery has been used to some degree of success for many patients. For reference, cytoreductive surgery is a procedure that surgically removes any visible tumor or cancer within the peritoneal cavity of the abdomen. In recent years, this surgery has been followed by heated chemotherapy drugs that are delivered to the affected area of the abdomen.

This is, of course, a complicated and risky procedure. While many patients have benefited from this form of surgery, others have not fared well, losing their life shortly after the procedure. If these researchers are correct that increased muscle mass can predict who will fare better after surgery, this could bode well for patient treatment and a patient’s ability to make a more informed medical decision.

In the study, the researchers found that peritoneal mesothelioma patients with "normal muscle mass" lived nearly a year and a half longer than patients with sarcopenia (the medical term for muscle loss from aging). Importantly, these findings were based on a median figure, not an average where the longest-surviving patients skewed the average.

This meaningful and potentially positive news for peritoneal mesothelioma survival rates should be tempered, however, since the post-surgical complication rates between "normal" muscle mass patients and sarcopenia patients did not observably differ.

As such, the findings should be taken as a meaningful step towards better medical care, but it does not change the fact that all peritoneal mesothelioma patients face a difficult and life-threatening cancer diagnosis every day.

Talk to the Ledger Law Firm to Find Out If You Are Entitled to Legal Compensation Because of a Wrongful Exposure to Asbestos

When this diagnosis was caused by a wrongful asbestos exposure by a legally responsible party, mesothelioma patients deserve legal compensation for the harms suffered. The Ledger Law Firm has earned a reputation for helping deserving mesothelioma victims and families receive the legal compensation that is owed to them because a wrongful asbestos exposure caused their diagnosis.

Contact us online today for a free case evaluation to speak with a mesothelioma lawyer at The Ledger Law Firm about your legal claim.