Commentary: “Can we” versus “should we”: The defining dilemma of mesothelioma surgery

[摘要] Surgery for mesothelioma remains one of the most controversial topics in oncology, and this important report by the Brigham group contributes to the controversy. Curative intent mesothelioma operations are among the largest in all of surgery but…wait for it…there's no Level I evidence supporting it as a treatment. That said, there is compelling evidence that some patients do survive significantly longer with these colossal palliative operations than would be expected without them. Who are those patients? They are typically highly selected epithelioid patients undergoing aggressive multimodal treatments that yield median overall survival rates (OS) in the 3-year range—approximately twice as long as the 18-month OS with standard-of-care systemic treatments.

[学科分类] 心脏病和心血管学