Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

What Is the Life Expectancy for Mesothelioma?

The average mesothelioma life expectancy with treatment for patients is approximately 12-21 months and varies based on factors like the patient’s overall health, stage at diagnosis, mesothelioma cell type, and what type of mesothelioma the patient has.

Mesothelioma life expectancy, which is the predicted length of time a patient is expected to live after their diagnosis, is part of a patient’s overall mesothelioma prognosis.

Surgery, chemotherapy, or other treatments may increase a patient’s mesothelioma life span by several months or even years. Your doctor can work with you to develop a custom treatment plan that gives you the best shot at a longer life span.

“We’re making great strides and research today, and we do see patients who certainly far outlive what the predictions are.”

– Mary Hesdorffer, Former Executive Director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation

Life Expectancy vs. Survival Rate

When giving a patient their prognosis, doctors may also mention mesothelioma survival rate, which is the percentage of people still alive after a particular amount of time. In mesothelioma patients, this rate is usually given in 1-, 3-, or 5-year increments.

On the other hand, life expectancy may refer to a group of people or the individual patient and is usually given as a specific amount of time that patient is expected to live after diagnosis. In mesothelioma patients, this time span is usually measured in months.

Living a life with mesothelioma can be hectic. Stay organized with our free cancer treatment planner to keep track of appointments, medications, symptoms, and more.

Pleural Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

Patients with pleural mesothelioma can expect to live roughly 1-2 years after diagnosis. However, the stage at which they are diagnosed may influence life expectancy dramatically.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

The life expectancy for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma is around 51.5 months.

Patients who are good candidates for the aggressive cytoreduction with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) procedure have a median survival of 53 months.

Peritoneal mesothelioma symptoms can be vague, making the disease difficult to diagnose early. However, peritoneal mesothelioma tends to spread more slowly than other types, can be treated more aggressively because it is not near vital organs, and tends to mostly remain in the abdomen even after it has metastasized.

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Life Expectancy for Rare Types of Mesothelioma

Pericardial Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

Pericardial mesothelioma has the shortest life expectancy of all types, averaging just 6 months. That said, it is extremely rare, making up less than 1% of all mesothelioma cases.

Most cases of pericardial mesothelioma aren’t discovered until after an autopsy has been performed. When patients do receive a diagnosis for this cancer, it has typically already progressed to an advanced stage. This, and the cancer’s location near the heart, make it difficult to treat.

Testicular Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

The median life expectancy for testicular mesothelioma after surgery is around 23 months. With only a few hundred cases ever reported, testicular mesothelioma is often diagnosed while a patient is undergoing surgery for what is mistaken as a hernia.

On average, the cancer returns in only 1 out of 10 patients who receive an orchiectomy (removal of the testes and any nearby cancerous tissue) before the cancer spreads.

Factors Impacting Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

With so many factors influencing life expectancy, it can be difficult for a mesothelioma specialist to predict how long a patient will survive. However, a few important factors have a particularly strong influence on life expectancy.

Mesothelioma Type

Each malignant mesothelioma type develops in a different area of the body, and some places are harder to treat than others. In turn, the type of mesothelioma a patient develops can greatly affect life expectancy.

For example, patients with pericardial mesothelioma (which affects the lining of the heart) have a lower life expectancy, while patients with peritoneal mesothelioma (which affects the lining of the abdomen) have the highest.

Cell Type

Mesothelioma is grouped into three main mesothelioma cell types based on how the cancer cells look and behave.

The type of cancer cells (epithelial mesothelioma cells, biphasic cells, or sarcomatoid cells) that make up a patient’s mesothelioma tumors can have a major impact on a patient’s life expectancy.

Cancer Stage

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the only type that is well-studied enough to be classified using an official staging system. However, as a general rule, the earlier a patient is diagnosed with mesothelioma, the longer they can expect to survive.

Mesothelioma stage at diagnosis may affect life expectancy because early-stage patients are better candidates for potentially life-extending surgery. Additionally, early-stage mesothelioma is further from metastasis.

Unfortunately, about two-thirds of mesothelioma patients are diagnosed after their cancer is already advanced.

Other Life Expectancy Factors

Mesothelioma life expectancy may be affected by many factors outside of a patient’s cancer traits. Various studies have shown characteristics of the patients themselves may influence life expectancy — sometimes considerably.

Other mesothelioma life expectancy factors include:

• Age: Mesothelioma patients under 45 tend to have the longest life expectancy after diagnosis.
• Overall health: Mesothelioma patients who are in otherwise good health and do not smoke tend to have a longer life expectancy on average. Such patients are more fit for life-extending surgeries and tend to remain healthier longer.
• Sex: Women with mesothelioma are consistently shown to live longer on average than their male counterparts. This may be because men tend to have heavier asbestos exposure or because women tend to develop the disease at a younger age. Some studies also indicated that estrogen may play a role.

Getting treatment from an experienced oncologist may help improve mesothelioma life expectancy. Use our free Mesothelioma Doctor Match to find a specialist near you.

Treatment to Improve Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

One of the best ways patients can improve their life expectancy by months or even years is by working with a specialist at a top mesothelioma cancer treatment center.

These facilities employ highly experienced doctors who can perform mesothelioma treatment options not available at all cancer centers.

Most mesothelioma specialists agree that combining more than one treatment (known as multimodal therapy) is the most effective way to increase survival time. In fact, the best chemotherapy results are currently achieved when paired with surgery, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Learn more about mesothelioma treatment options below.

Surgery

When mesothelioma is diagnosed at an early enough stage and a patient is otherwise fit, doctors usually recommend mesothelioma surgery to physically remove as much of the cancer as possible. Surgeons generally pair surgery with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.

Surgeries aiming to improve life expectancy include:

• Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) – Pleural mesothelioma
• Pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) – Pleural mesothelioma
• Cytoreduction with HIPEC – Peritoneal mesothelioma

For patients who are diagnosed too late to undergo curative surgeries, mesothelioma chemotherapy usually becomes the primary treatment.

Chemotherapy

Mesothelioma chemotherapy is another treatment option aiming to improve mesothelioma life expectancy after diagnosis.

Chemotherapy is given in cycles and focuses on killing off cancer cells, shrinking tumors, and preventing growth of new cells.

There are several chemotherapy drugs that are given intravenously, such as cisplatin, pemetrexed, carboplatin, gemcitabine, and more.

To treat peritoneal mesothelioma, many specialists will use heated chemotherapy drugs to coat the abdomen and kill remaining cancer cells after performing cytoreductive surgery.

Emerging Treatments

Mesothelioma clinical trials are controlled research studies conducted to develop and improve emerging treatments such as gene therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.

The medical advancements made through these trials provide mesothelioma patients, especially those with late-stage cancer, opportunities to extend their life expectancy.

The most recent success in mesothelioma clinical trials is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of a combination of immunotherapy drugs. In October 2020, the FDA approved nivolumab plus ipilimumab (OPDIVO® and YERVOY®) to treat pleural mesothelioma after it proved effective in increasing life expectancy.

Life Expectancy Without Treatment

The average survival of cancer patients who do not receive mesothelioma treatment is roughly 12 months. Some mesothelioma patients choose to or are eligible to receive only palliative care, which is designed to help with symptom management and improving quality of life.

Patients who don’t qualify for or who don’t want to undergo aggressive treatments are encouraged to talk with their oncologist and care team about their options.

Find a Mesothelioma Specialist Near You

After being diagnosed with mesothelioma, many patients may wonder how they can improve their prognosis.

Treating mesothelioma as early as possible offers patients the greatest chance of extending their life expectancy. To access these treatments, work with a mesothelioma doctor who has experience performing various treatment options and knowledge about clinical trials.

Getting proper cancer treatment, staying active, eating healthy, and getting plenty of rest may help improve your life expectancy and overall quality of life.

If you or your loved one is interested in pursuing treatment for mesothelioma, use our free Mesothelioma Specialist Match program to find a specialist near you.