Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Time Is Running Out

Our plain-English summary of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Time Is Running Out, by F. Lococo (Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2021).

The study

• Author: F. Lococo
• Journal: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Published: 2021;10(4)
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but highly malignant disease of the pleura usually related to asbestos exposure [...].

In plain English

This was a short editorial by the author introducing a journal Special Issue on malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a cancer of the pleura (the lining around the lungs). The author described it as usually related to asbestos exposure. The editorial reported no new research data. The author wrote that MPM patients face a dismal prognosis, with expected survival of 9–18 months after diagnosis depending on histological subtype, and that MPM seems not to have benefited from recent treatment advances seen in other cancers such as lung cancer. The author added that immunotherapy has shown promising preliminary results, but that its role in daily practice is still far from defined. Citing earlier work, the author noted three points. European respiratory and thoracic surgery societies had projected that incidence would peak around 2020. Large-scale screening is not recommended. A small randomized study (MARS) questioned the usefulness of radical surgery. Drawing on a separate study of global mesothelioma burden, the author expected cases to increase in populous countries with high asbestos use, naming China, Russia and India. The author concluded that research should be intensified.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Editorial introducing a journal Special Issue; no original research data
• Who was studied: No study population; the editorial discusses malignant pleural mesothelioma patients in general
• Exposure: Asbestos exposure in general; no fiber types, products, jobs or doses are specified
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that time is running out as incidence peaks in high-income countries and is expected to rise in populous middle-income countries, and that research should be intensified for both settings

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Pleura, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Mesothelin Immunotherapy for Cancer: Ready for Prime Time? — R. Hassan, A. Thomas, et al. (2016)
• Time trend of mesothelioma incidence in the United States and projection of future cases: an update based on SEER data for 1973 through 2005 — B. Price, A. Ware (2009)
• Analysis of latency time and its determinants in asbestos related malignant mesothelioma cases of the Italian register — A. Marinaccio, A. Binazzi, et al. (2007)
• DREM 2.0: Improved reconstruction of dynamic regulatory networks from time-series expression data — M.H. Schulz, W.E. Devanny, et al. (2012)
• Time course of chemotactic factor generation and the corresponding macrophage response to asbestos inhalation — D.B. Warheit, L.H. Hill, et al. (1986)
• Pleural plaques and asbestosis: dose- and time-response relationships based on HRCT data — C. Paris, S. Thierry, et al. (2009)

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