Estimating Mesothelioma Survival Time

Patients with mesothelioma are surviving longer than ever before. One key component of survival rates are the statistics that support them. These statistics help explain a patient’s prognosis and determine their outcome. They accomplish this by examining how long other patients with a similar diagnosis survive.

Underreported Factors Affecting Survival Rates

Current Survival Results

Survival rates don’t always reflect current data. Doctors examine the results of people treated in the past in order to provide patients with survival rates. These survival rates only offer a glimpse into the past, not the future.

New Treatment Options

Survival rates cannot account for new treatment options. In many cases these treatments were not available at the time the data was collected. Mesothelioma treatment options have been developing quickly through clinical trials in the past decade. Get connected to clinical trials for innovative treatments.

Misleading Statistics

Survival rates can be misleading because they include patients who didn’t receive treatment or were treated by general oncologists rather than mesothelioma specialists.

Patients and families should remember that all statistics (including survival rates) have a degree of error. While mesothelioma survival rates tend to be low, overall survival rates are constantly improving due to innovative treatment options.