Extrapleural Pneumonectomy (EPP) for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma, Results from Japan. (January 6, 2007)
The Department of Thoracic Surgery at Yokosuka Kyosai Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan analyzed 14 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) who underwent extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), a surgery that removes the entire affected lung. All patients were men and had an average age of 58.5 years.
Preoperative histological diagnosis was as follows: 12 epithelial, 1 biphasic, and 1 sarcomatous. However, postoperative histological diagnosis showed 8 epithelial, 5 biphasic, and 1 sarcomatous. According to disease staging outlined by the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (IMIG), 3 patients had Stage II disease, 8 were Stage III, and 3 had progressed to Stage IV, as determined postoperatively.
The operative mortality rate was 7% (1 death), and the morbidity rate was 50% (7 cases). The survival time for patients was between 2-5 years with a median survival rate of 20.2 months, 33. 8.3%, respectively.
Conclusions:
EPP for strictly selected patients has been successful in improving survival of patients with negative-node, epithelial type cells, and negative residual tumors.
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Yokosuka Kyosai Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan.
Authors: Morohoshi, T.; Yamamoto, T.; Nagashima, T.
National Center for
Biotechnology Information. PubMed.
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db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17249537&query_hl=1&
itool=pubmed_docsum. Jan. 6, 2007. Feb. 20, 2007.
*** POSTED FEBRUARY 20, 2007 ***