Mesothelioma Statistics on Survival Rates and Prognosis
Once a diagnosis has been made, a patient can obtain a mesothelioma prognosis — the expected course of their disease.
Though almost all cases of mesothelioma are fatal, a prognosis tells a patient how long they may have to live. To provide an accurate estimate for a patient’s life span, doctors turn to mesothelioma survival statistics of past patients.
Did You Know?According to mesothelioma statistics from the Mayo Clinic, 5-10% of patients are still alive 5 years after diagnosis.
The median survival rate for mesothelioma patients is 11 months, but each individual’s prognosis is impacted by factors such as mesothelioma location, stage, and cell type.
Survival Rates by Location
Where the cancer first develops can greatly impact a patient’s life expectancy.
- Pleural mesothelioma: According to the medical journal the Lancet, the median life expectancy for pleural mesothelioma patients is 1 year after diagnosis.
- Peritoneal mesothelioma: With treatment, 29-63% of patients are still alive 5 years after diagnosis. The ASCO notes that peritoneal mesothelioma patients have longer survival rates since peritoneal tumors often grow slower than tumors belonging to the other mesothelioma types.
- Pericardial mesothelioma: Patients diagnosed with this type will live for six months on average, according to a 2014 study published in the Journal of Thoracic Disease.
- Testicular mesothelioma: This type of mesothelioma has a relatively high survival rate. Overall, nearly 50% of patients were still alive 5 years after diagnosis, according to a 2019 report.
While these survival rates are maybe considered poor, they are not absolutes. For example, Paul Kraus received a mesothelioma diagnosis in 1997 after being exposed to asbestos in the 1960s. Though doctors told him he had less than a year to live, he is still alive as of 2020 — a full 23 years later.
Survival Rates By Stage
The ACS has also published statistics on the 2- and 5-year survival rates of people diagnosed with various stages of mesothelioma who received treatment.
Learn more about the survival rates by stage below.
Stage
|
2-Year Survival
|
5-Year Survival
|
Stage IA
|
46% |
16% |
Stage IB
|
41% |
13%
|
Stage II
|
38% |
10%
|
Stage IIIA
|
30% |
8%
|
Stage IIIB
|
26% |
5%
|
Stage IV |
17% |
<1%
|
Pleural mesothelioma is the only type of this cancer that can be broken up into stages, according to the ACS. There is not sufficient historical data on the other types to do so.
Survival Rates By Cell Type
Mesothelioma tumors can be made up of several different types of cells. Some of these types of cells can spread more quickly throughout the body than others, which can impact a patient’s overall life span.
Mesothelioma cell types include:
- Epithelioid: These cells grow more slowly than the others and are more responsive to treatments. Patients with this cell type live for 12.5 months on average, all stages taken together.
- Sarcomatoid: These cells are very aggressive and typically respond poorly to treatment. Because of this, patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma have a median survival time of 9.4 months.
- Biphasic: Some mesothelioma tumors consist of both epithelioid and sarcomatoid cells. Survival rates vary depending on which cell type is dominant, with biphasic patients living for 11 months on average.
Patients can learn what mesothelioma cell type they have by consulting their doctor after diagnosis.
Survival Rates by Demographics
A patient’s unique demographic factors also affect their survival rate.
These factors include:
- Age: According to ASCO, younger patients diagnosed with mesothelioma may live longer.
- Gender: Women are three times more likely to survive for 5 years after diagnosis than men, according to 2014 mesothelioma statistics published by the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
- Overall health: Patients who have other health conditions in addition to mesothelioma may not be able to safely undergo life-extending treatments like surgery.
Since these factors can vary greatly with each person, some may have a better (or worse) life expectancy than the general population.