| |

Major Effect of COVID-19 on Mesothelioma Patient Survival in Italy

ByHolly Zink
Major Effect of COVID-19 on Mesothelioma Patient Survival in Italy

The COVID‐19 pandemic had a major effect on some mesothelioma patients in Italy. A new study in Medical & Clinical Research shows how the pandemic harmed new diagnoses and survival.

Malignant mesothelioma is one of the rarest types of cancer. Many people have never even heard of ‘asbestos cancer’ until they are diagnosed. Most do not know anyone else who has it. Social distancing to protect themselves against COVID-19 compounds the problem.

The timely diagnosis of mesothelioma is important. Although it may not change the prognosis of the disease, it can help in treatment strategies. Treatment delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a major effect on survival rates for some patients.

Survival Rate during Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a delay in the diagnosis of many cancer diseases. Hospitals converted many departments into COVID-19 clinics. And clinics canceled many outpatient activities.

A few months ago, a team reported no significant differences in the first wave of the pandemic. But, new data has just been released that suggests the opposite.

News from the University of Trieste in Italy reports a decrease in new mesothelioma diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has resulted in an increase in avoidable deaths.

The team compared 109 mesothelioma patient records from 2020 to those from 2019. They compared both the number of mesothelioma diagnoses recorded and patient survival time.

Compared to 2019, in 2020 the total number of mesothelioma diagnoses cases increased by 9.2%. The number of pleural mesotheliomas increased by 16.7%. But peritoneal cases decreased by 45.2%.

Compared to 2019, in 2020 median survival was worse for peritoneal mesotheliomas. In 2020, patients survived 6 months versus 12.5 months in 2019. This was more prominent in females. Women survived 6 months in 2020 versus 9 months in 2019.

The pandemic caused delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment for some Italian patients. This in turn may have had a major effect on patient survival time.

Early diagnosis is essential to ensure the clinical management of mesothelioma patients.

Source:

D’Agostin, Flavia, Paola De Michieli, Martina Lorenzino, and Corrado Negro. “Malignant mesothelioma diagnosis and survival in the time of COVID-19 in Northeastern Italy.” Medical & Clinical Research 7 (7): 01 8 (2022). https://www.medclinrese.org/open-access/malignant-mesothelioma-diagnosis-and-survival-in-the-time-of-covid-19-in-northeastern-italy.pdf

 

Similar Posts

Doctors Describe "Concrete Therapeutic Approach" for Mesothelioma
| |

Doctors Describe "Concrete Therapeutic Approach" for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A team of medical researchers in Italy have achieved what they are calling “excellent” tumor control and survival results in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients using a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Caused by exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma typically spreads quickly across the lung-encasing membrane called the pleura. There is no known cure but treatments are improving. In the current prospective study, 20 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients underwent radical pleurectomy/decortication followed by high doses of radiation. After surgeons removed as much of the visible mesothelioma tumor and surrounding tissue as possible, patients received 50Gy of radiation to the effected side of their chest, delivered in 25 fractions. Regions of particular concern for mesothelioma regrowth got an extra radiation “boost” to…

Mesothelioma Still Rising Despite Ban in Ireland
|

Mesothelioma Still Rising Despite Ban in Ireland

ByAlex Strauss

A study in Ireland confirms that it can take many years for a ban on asbestos to have a measurable impact on a country’s rates of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is the most serious of a list of diseases – including lung cancer, pleural plaques, asbestosis, and others – linked with exposure to asbestos dust. Affecting the linings around the lungs and other organs, mesothelioma is often resistant to most cancer treatments and may be fatal within a year of diagnosis. According to the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, Ireland is one of 55 countries that have enacted some type of asbestos ban. However, although Ireland banned asbestos in 2000, a new study published in Cancer Epidemiology shows that incidence of the…

Does Radiotherapy Reduce Mesothelioma Pain?
| |

Does Radiotherapy Reduce Mesothelioma Pain?

ByAlex Strauss

A new study says there is not enough evidence to support the use of radiotherapy for the treatment of pain associated with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland reviewed a range of past studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy by searching databases that date back as far as 1974. To be eligible to be included in their review, the study had to focus on malignant pleural mesothelioma and radiotherapy given “with the intent of improving pain”. The study also had to report doses and fractionation of the radiotherapy and how the pain responded. In all, the researchers found eight studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy that met the criteria. Two of the studies were prospective…

Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools
|

Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools

ByAlex Strauss

A recent mesothelioma diagnosis in the UK once again dramatically highlights the fact that even a small amount of asbestos can be deadly. Sixty-three-year-old school teacher Marion Potts of Brockenhurst died of mesothelioma in a Southampton hospital in June. According to an article in The Mirror, the Coroner recorded a verdict of “death from an industrial disease” after hearing evidence last week that Potts actually saw asbestos dust being released when she pinned work on the classroom walls. Most recently, Potts was head of the English department at Romsey School in Hampshire until her retirement two years ago. Mesothelioma is a growing threat among school teachers, administrators, maintenance workers, and even students in British schools. A government report released last…

Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma: Better But Still Limited
| |

Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma: Better But Still Limited

ByAlex Strauss

A form of highly-targeted radiation therapy for mesothelioma is better than it used to be, but is still risky. That is the message of a recent article on intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Author Kenneth E. Rosenzweig, MD, a Radiation Oncologist with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, reviewed recent studies on IMRT and mesothelioma. He concludes that, while the “troubling toxicity” associated with IMRT when it was first introduced has not been entirely eliminated, the fact that clinicians now have more experience with it is making a positive difference for mesothelioma patients. Before targeted therapies like IMRT were available, high-dose radiation was not usually a feasible option for mesothelioma since the irregular shape…

A Second-Line Option for Mesothelioma?
| |

A Second-Line Option for Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

Although survival was not significantly extended, the chemotherapy drug vinorelbine might be a treatment option for mesothelioma patients whose cancer has returned after first-line chemotherapy with pemetrexed. A new study on vinorelbine as a second-line treatment finds that the drug is “moderately active” in mesothelioma patients who were initially treated with pemetrexed-based chemotherapy. Pemetrexed (Alimta), along with a platinum-based drug like cisplatin, is the primary first-line drug therapy for mesothelioma. But vinorelbine is gaining attention as a possible option for mesothelioma, in part because it is available in a less expensive generic form. In “Vinorelbine in pemetrexed-pretreated patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma”, the Italian authors detail the results of their study on 59 patients with unresectable pleural mesothelioma.  These patients…