Study Highlights Treatment Disparities in Female Mesothelioma Patients
Female mesothelioma patients are less likely to have surgery and other aggressive treatments than male patients are, but they still tend to live longer. That’s according to a nine-year study of nearly 19,000 pleural mesothelioma patients. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine led the study. The team used the National Cancer Database to identify pleural mesothelioma cases diagnosed between 2004 and 2013. The study included more than four thousand female mesothelioma patients. The conclusion is that there are serious disparities in the way doctors treat men and women with malignant mesothelioma. Gender Differences in Mesothelioma Incidence Exposure to asbestos is the primary cause of malignant mesothelioma. Although it can affect either gender, most mesothelioma patients are…