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Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: An Update on the Role of Surgery

Received: 29 October 2017     Accepted: 4 December 2017     Published: 26 December 2017
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Abstract

Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer which can occur in various sites, such as the peritoneum, the pericardium and tunica vaginalis testis; but malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common type. Malignant pleural mesothelioma commonly affects older males that have been exposed to asbestos 20-40 years ago. The disease is difficult to be treated and has an overall survival expectancy of about 1 year. Histological subtypes include epithelioid, sarcomatoid and biphasic or mixed. Diagnosing this type of cancer is rather challenging and as a result it is usually diagnosed in most patients in progressed stages. Surgery with minimal procedures is applied to reach the diagnosis, with the Video Assisted Thoracoscopic procedure being considered to be the “gold standard”. Patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma should be managed by experienced multidisciplinary teams, as treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy and /or chemotherapy. Extrapleural pneumonectomy and pleurectomy/decortication are the preferred procedures in the treatment of this malignancy, but whether they prolong life expectancy or improve quality of life of the patients still remains a controversial issue. In any case, careful assessment before surgery is of paramount importance. Multimodality approaches, which include surgery for patients who are fit, are often chosen in order to increase survival rates in clinical trials.

Published in International Journal of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (Volume 3, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijcts.20170306.14
Page(s) 78-85
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma, Pleurectomy, Extra-Pleural Pneumonectomy, Surgery, Review

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Maria Kalliopi Konstantinidou, Christos Kakos, Dimitrios Kyparissopoulos. (2017). Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: An Update on the Role of Surgery. International Journal of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, 3(6), 78-85. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijcts.20170306.14

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    ACS Style

    Maria Kalliopi Konstantinidou; Christos Kakos; Dimitrios Kyparissopoulos. Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: An Update on the Role of Surgery. Int. J. Cardiovasc. Thorac. Surg. 2017, 3(6), 78-85. doi: 10.11648/j.ijcts.20170306.14

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    AMA Style

    Maria Kalliopi Konstantinidou, Christos Kakos, Dimitrios Kyparissopoulos. Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: An Update on the Role of Surgery. Int J Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2017;3(6):78-85. doi: 10.11648/j.ijcts.20170306.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijcts.20170306.14,
      author = {Maria Kalliopi Konstantinidou and Christos Kakos and Dimitrios Kyparissopoulos},
      title = {Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: An Update on the Role of Surgery},
      journal = {International Journal of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery},
      volume = {3},
      number = {6},
      pages = {78-85},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijcts.20170306.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijcts.20170306.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijcts.20170306.14},
      abstract = {Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer which can occur in various sites, such as the peritoneum, the pericardium and tunica vaginalis testis; but malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common type. Malignant pleural mesothelioma commonly affects older males that have been exposed to asbestos 20-40 years ago. The disease is difficult to be treated and has an overall survival expectancy of about 1 year. Histological subtypes include epithelioid, sarcomatoid and biphasic or mixed. Diagnosing this type of cancer is rather challenging and as a result it is usually diagnosed in most patients in progressed stages. Surgery with minimal procedures is applied to reach the diagnosis, with the Video Assisted Thoracoscopic procedure being considered to be the “gold standard”. Patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma should be managed by experienced multidisciplinary teams, as treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy and /or chemotherapy. Extrapleural pneumonectomy and pleurectomy/decortication are the preferred procedures in the treatment of this malignancy, but whether they prolong life expectancy or improve quality of life of the patients still remains a controversial issue. In any case, careful assessment before surgery is of paramount importance. Multimodality approaches, which include surgery for patients who are fit, are often chosen in order to increase survival rates in clinical trials.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    T1  - Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: An Update on the Role of Surgery
    AU  - Maria Kalliopi Konstantinidou
    AU  - Christos Kakos
    AU  - Dimitrios Kyparissopoulos
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijcts.20170306.14
    T2  - International Journal of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery
    JF  - International Journal of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery
    JO  - International Journal of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery
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    AB  - Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer which can occur in various sites, such as the peritoneum, the pericardium and tunica vaginalis testis; but malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common type. Malignant pleural mesothelioma commonly affects older males that have been exposed to asbestos 20-40 years ago. The disease is difficult to be treated and has an overall survival expectancy of about 1 year. Histological subtypes include epithelioid, sarcomatoid and biphasic or mixed. Diagnosing this type of cancer is rather challenging and as a result it is usually diagnosed in most patients in progressed stages. Surgery with minimal procedures is applied to reach the diagnosis, with the Video Assisted Thoracoscopic procedure being considered to be the “gold standard”. Patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma should be managed by experienced multidisciplinary teams, as treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy and /or chemotherapy. Extrapleural pneumonectomy and pleurectomy/decortication are the preferred procedures in the treatment of this malignancy, but whether they prolong life expectancy or improve quality of life of the patients still remains a controversial issue. In any case, careful assessment before surgery is of paramount importance. Multimodality approaches, which include surgery for patients who are fit, are often chosen in order to increase survival rates in clinical trials.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Harefield Hospital, London, UK

  • Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Harefield Hospital, London, UK

  • Department of Thoracic Surgery, Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus, Limassol, Cyprus

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