Mesothelioma Prognosis

What’s the Average Mesothelioma Prognosis?

Mesothelioma prognosis is the expected progression and outcome of the cancer. Your doctor will determine your prognosis based on your cancer’s location, cell type, stage, and other factors, such as your overall health.

The average mesothelioma prognosis is 12-21 months with treatment.

However, each case of mesothelioma is unique and has a different outcome. Some mesothelioma patients live 5 years or longer after their initial diagnosis, and some can become long-term survivors who live for decades.

No matter your prognosis, you should work with a mesothelioma doctor to develop your personalized treatment plan.

Before your appointment, download our Free Questions to Ask Your Doctor Checklist to ensure you get the answers you need on mesothelioma prognosis and treatment.

How to Improve Your Mesothelioma Prognosis

The prognosis for malignant mesothelioma is generally poor but can be improved by receiving treatment targeted to your specific diagnosis.

Healthy lifestyle changes may also help you live longer when combined with specialized mesothelioma treatment.

Improving Mesothelioma Prognosis Through Treatment

Patients who are healthy enough to undergo surgery have a better chance of improving their prognosis for mesothelioma.

For example, nearly 70% of patients with peritoneal mesothelioma who receive cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) live for 5 years after diagnosis.

“Surgery is more likely to have long-term benefits in early-stage cancers, where there’s a better chance that most or all of the cancer can be removed.”
– American Cancer Society

However, some cancer cells may still be left behind after mesothelioma surgery. This can cause the malignant cells to divide and grow. For this reason, many patients will respond best to multimodal therapy, a combination of treatments that may include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Patients who aren’t candidates for surgery can receive mesothelioma chemotherapy to shrink their tumors or slow the growth of cancer cells.

Mesothelioma radiation therapy can also be used on its own to shrink tumors and reduce painful symptoms.

As researchers discover new treatment methods, mesothelioma patients can access more effective care that may improve their prognosis. Clinical trials for mesothelioma, in particular, are paving the way toward emerging therapies that may improve survival rates — and potentially offer a cure.

Learn more about clinical trials and other ways to potentially improve your prognosis in our Free Mesothelioma Guide, packed with nearly 100 pages of information to help you fight this disease.

Improving Mesothelioma Prognosis Through a Healthy Lifestyle

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle may enhance your ability to recover from cancer treatment and improve your overall well-being, which in turn may improve your mesothelioma life expectancy.

Mesothelioma patients may improve their prognosis through:

• Exercise: Light exercise, such as aerobics, can improve blood flow, reduce fatigue, and increase appetite.
• Not smoking: Smoking can make it harder to stay healthy during mesothelioma treatment, tolerate chemotherapy, or undergo life-extending surgery.
• Proper nutrition: Mesothelioma patients should follow dietary recommendations from their doctor. The nutrients in certain foods can help boost the immune system and can promote healing after treatment.
• Stress management: Anxiety and stress can negatively affect overall health and recovery. Mesothelioma patients may benefit from relaxing activities such as meditation and yoga.

All of these are important elements of your overall health and may help strengthen your body before, during, and after receiving cancer treatment.

Pleural Mesothelioma Prognosis

Pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs (pleura), is the most common type of this cancer and has the poorest prognosis.

Pleural mesothelioma prognosis primarily depends on the stage of the cancer at diagnosis. Doctors usually determine the stage of malignant pleural mesothelioma by using the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system.

TNM uses four stages to describe how far a patient’s cancer has spread. In general, your prognosis will be better the earlier you are diagnosed.

*Average life expectancy with surgery or treatment

Early Stage Mesothelioma Prognosis

Patients with early-stage mesothelioma (stages 1 and 2) who are in otherwise good health often make excellent surgery candidates, giving them a better prognosis.

Later Stage Mesothelioma Prognosis

Late-stage cancer (stages 3 and 4) that has spread to distant parts in the body may not respond to mesothelioma surgery, contributing to a poorer prognosis for these patients.

Instead, treatment for late-stage mesothelioma focuses on symptom management and improving quality of life. However, every patient is different. Treatment advances occur frequently — even patients diagnosed in stage 3 or 4 may outlive their prognosis.

Looking for late-stage mesothelioma treatment? Find a specialist in your area who can help improve your prognosis with our Free Doctor Match.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Prognosis

Peritoneal mesothelioma develops in the lining of the abdomen (peritoneum) and has the best prognosis.

The average peritoneal life expectancy is 53 months for patients with epithelioid cell types who receive cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC.

Multimodal treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma may be the most effective way to improve prognosis. In 2022, the Washington Cancer Institute reported that about 80% of patients lived 5 years or more if they received additional chemotherapy over a prolonged period after undergoing cytoreduction surgery with HIPEC.

Peritoneal mesothelioma may have a more favorable prognosis due to:

• Age and gender: Peritoneal mesothelioma patients tend to be diagnosed at a younger age, which can improve their prognosis. Further, there is a higher proportion of women with peritoneal mesothelioma. Female mesothelioma patients have a better prognosis than men.
• Cancer progression: Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma progresses slower than other types and tends to remain in the abdomen instead of spreading throughout the body.
• Tolerance for treatment: Patients may be able to withstand more rigorous treatments in the abdominal area compared to the lungs, resulting in a better prognosis for peritoneal mesothelioma.

What’s the Prognosis for Rare Types of Mesothelioma?

There are other types of mesothelioma in addition to the more commonly diagnosed pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma.

Pericardial mesothelioma has the worst prognosis of all types because of its close proximity to the heart. The 2-year survival rate for pericardial mesothelioma patients is just 12.2%.

Although testicular mesothelioma is extremely rare, the survival rate is relatively high if the cancer is caught before it has spread. About 49% of testicular mesothelioma patients can expect to live at least 5 years after diagnosis.

Factors That Affect Mesothelioma Prognosis

One of the most important factors of a mesothelioma prognosis is getting diagnosed and starting treatment as soon as possible.

Other factors that may affect your prognosis include:

• Age: Younger patients may be able to withstand more rigorous treatment to effectively fight mesothelioma and improve their prognosis.
• Blood chemistry: Abnormally high levels of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets are linked to reduced mesothelioma survival rates.
• Cell type: Epithelial cells are the least aggressive type of mesothelioma cells and respond best to treatment. Patients with a biphasic or sarcomatoid cell type may have a worse prognosis.
• Gender: Women with mesothelioma tend to live longer and respond more positively to treatment than men, according to the National Cancer Institute.
• Stage at diagnosis: Because they can typically undergo life-extending surgery, early-stage mesothelioma patients often have a much better prognosis than those diagnosed later.
• Treatment options: Patients who undergo aggressive mesothelioma treatment like surgery often have a better prognosis. Surgery may also increase the effectiveness of other cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy.
• Type of mesothelioma: The type (location) of mesothelioma can impact cancer spread, available treatment options, and other factors that affect prognosis.

Since so many factors can affect the prognosis of mesothelioma, it’s important to see a mesothelioma specialist as soon as possible. Early detection and diagnosis can be critical in accessing treatment to improve your condition.

Points of Hope: Survivors Who’ve Outlived Their Mesothelioma Prognosis

Some patients far surpassed their doctors’ expectations despite receiving a poor prognosis. A few of these inspiring mesothelioma survivors are highlighted below.

These survivors demonstrate the importance of staying hopeful. Specialized treatments — along with healthy lifestyle changes — are helping many mesothelioma patients live longer than ever before.

Get tips from patients who defied the odds by downloading our Free Mesothelioma Survivors Guide today.

Learn More About Improving Your Mesothelioma Prognosis

Although mesothelioma generally has a poor prognosis, it is important to remember every case is unique. Some mesothelioma survivors have lived for several years with their cancer.

Many of the factors that impact a mesothelioma prognosis are not controllable, but there are certain steps that patients can take that may increase their life expectancy.

Get your Free Mesothelioma Guide to learn more about treatments, clinical trials, and other ways to improve your mesothelioma prognosis.