Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2023) | Viewed by 21450

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Azienda Ospedaliera San Camillo Forlanini, Rome, Italy
Interests: thoracic oncology; minimally invasive surgery

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare disease with a dismal prognosis: roughly half of the patients live only 1 year after diagnosis. It is strictly related to asbestos exposure with a latency time of around 20 to 50 years. The term asbestos identifies 6 minerals (chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite, actinolite) and comes from a Russian town called Asbest, well known for its silicate fibrous minerals mines. Asbestos consumption peaked around 1980, and then dropped because its use was banned or strictly regulated in many countries. The worldwide mesothelioma incidence and mortality rates are unrecognized since data in developing countries that are still using a large amount of asbestos are not available. However, in Australia, the USA, and Western Europe the incidence of mesothelioma has decreased, indicating the importance of pre-emptive actions.

Several questions are still opened in this field:

  • How we can improve the diagnostic accuracy? In high-resource countries, about 14% of mesothelioma diagnoses are incorrect resulting in inadequate treatment and confounding epidemiological data.
  • What is the optimal management? The optimal treatment for mesothelioma is still debated; thus, a multimodal setting is generally used, but none of the available therapies, both alone or combined, can ensure good long-term survival.
  • What is the role of surgery? There is no international agreement regarding surgical treatment of mesothelioma with curative intent as it is difficult to predict who will benefit from aggressive management.
  • What is the role of genetics? Since the discovery that BAP1 (germline BRCA1-associated protein 1) mutations cause mesothelioma and other cancers, interest in genetically linked mesotheliomas has increased to develop an early detection screening that may be life-saving.

In this Special Issue, thanks to a broad panel of experts in this field, we aim to discuss and clarify the most important controversies about this dismal disease.

Dr. Giuseppe Cardillo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • malignant pleural mesothelioma
  • extrapleural pneumonectomy
  • pleurectomy – decortication

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 747 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Preserving the Diaphragm on Early and Late Outcome of Lung-Sparing Radical Surgery for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
by Michelle Lee, Luigi Ventura, Ralitsa Baranowski, Joanne Hargrave and David Waller
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(22), 6839; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11226839 - 19 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1106
Abstract
Background: The accepted aim of radical surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is the achievement of macroscopic complete resection (MCR) whilst reducing perioperative morbidity by preserving normal tissue. Whilst preservation of the lung by pleurectomy/decortication (PD) has become widely utilised, there remains debate [...] Read more.
Background: The accepted aim of radical surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is the achievement of macroscopic complete resection (MCR) whilst reducing perioperative morbidity by preserving normal tissue. Whilst preservation of the lung by pleurectomy/decortication (PD) has become widely utilised, there remains debate regarding the management of the diaphragm. Muscle-sparing complete excision of the diaphragmatic pleura is technically challenging; thus, surgeons may proceed to extended PD with phrenectomy and possible increased morbidity or to preserve the diaphragmatic pleura at the expense of MCR with potential survival deficit. We aimed to evaluate the effects of an intentional change in protocol to diaphragm-sparing PD whilst maintaining MCR as the treatment of choice for MPM. Methods: In a series of 136 patients (111M:25F, median age 68(63–73) years) undergoing radical surgery for MPM, we identified 28 patients (22M:6F, median age 67(60–71) years) in whom MCR was achieved without phrenectomy (PD group). We compared their perioperative outcomes and survival with a historical control group of 18 patients (18M:0F, median age 69(57–78) years) in whom MCR had been achieved with phrenectomy (EPD group) but in whom there was no histological evidence of diaphragm muscle invasion and who, in retrospect, could have undergone muscle-sparing MCR if this procedure had been attempted. Results: There was no significant intergroup difference in demographics or tumour cell type; the majority of both groups were found to be epithelial (PD 85.7%, EPD 77.8%). The EPD group was found to be more locally advanced (T3 55.56%) than the PD group (T1 46.43%) (p = 0.03). All the following parameters were significantly reduced after PD compared to EPD: operative time (188 vs. 220 min, p = 0.007); duration of air leak (5 vs. 10 days, p = 0.001), duration of inotrope (p = 0.009) and post-operative hospital stay (8 vs. 13 days, p = 0.034). There were no significant differences (p = 0.123) in overall survival (OS) between the two groups, but the median survival in the PD group had not been reached at a median follow up of 33.9 (24.2–46) months. Conclusions: A surgical strategy of attempting to spare the diaphragm whilst still achieving MCR wherever possible is justified by improved perioperative outcomes without compromising OS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma)
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15 pages, 644 KiB  
Article
Multifactorial Evaluation following Cytoreductive Surgery for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in Patients with High Symptom-Burden
by Riccardo Tajè, Roberto Fiorito, Alexandro Patirelis, Valentina Marziali and Vincenzo Ambrogi
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(21), 6418; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11216418 - 29 Oct 2022
Viewed by 1170
Abstract
Mesothelioma has a scant prognosis and a great impact on symptoms and the quality of life. Pleurectomy/decortication and extrapleural pneumonectomy are the two cytoreductive surgical strategies, with different invasiveness, but achieving similar oncological results. Hereafter, the two surgical procedures effects on symptoms and [...] Read more.
Mesothelioma has a scant prognosis and a great impact on symptoms and the quality of life. Pleurectomy/decortication and extrapleural pneumonectomy are the two cytoreductive surgical strategies, with different invasiveness, but achieving similar oncological results. Hereafter, the two surgical procedures effects on symptoms and the quality of life are compared in a high symptom-burden population. Between 2003 and 2017, 55 consecutive patients underwent pleurectomy/decortication (n = 26) or extrapleural pneumonectomy (n = 29), both followed by adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy. Cardio-pulmonary function, symptoms and the quality of life (Short-Form-36 and St.George’s questionnaires) were evaluated pre- and 3-, 6-, 12- and 24-months postoperatively. Extrapleural pneumonectomy demonstrated lower pain at 12 months but a higher decrement of forced vital capacity at 24 months than pleurectomy/decortication. Both procedures revealed a 3-months improvement of many symptoms and the quality of life determinants. Improvement in physical, social and pain-related measured parameters lasted for a longer time-spawn in the extrapleural pneumonectomy group. No differences were found in chemotherapy compliance and survival between groups. Age-at-presentation (p = 0.02) and non-epitheliod histology (p = 0.10) were the only significant prognosticators. Surgery, despite poor survival results, improved symptoms and the quality of life in patients with mesothelioma with high symptom-burden at diagnosis. Therefore, extrapleural pneumonectomy demonstrated the most durable effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma)
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13 pages, 741 KiB  
Article
Single-Center 20-Year Experience in Surgical Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
by Giuseppe Mangiameli, Edoardo Bottoni, Umberto Cariboni, Giorgio Maria Ferraroli, Emanuela Morenghi, Veronica Maria Giudici, Emanuele Voulaz, Marco Alloisio and Alberto Testori
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(15), 4537; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11154537 - 03 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1423
Abstract
Objectives: We examined a series of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients who consecutively underwent surgery in our institution during the last 20 years. Across this period, we changed our surgical approach to MPM, adopting extended pleurectomy and decortication (eP/D) instead of extrapleural pneumonectomy [...] Read more.
Objectives: We examined a series of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients who consecutively underwent surgery in our institution during the last 20 years. Across this period, we changed our surgical approach to MPM, adopting extended pleurectomy and decortication (eP/D) instead of extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). In this study, we compare the perioperative outcomes and long-term survival of patients who underwent EPP vs. eP/D. Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out of all the MPM patients identified from our departmental database who underwent EPP or P/D from 2000 to 2021. Clavien–Dindo criteria was adopted to score postoperative complications, while Kaplan–Meier methods and a Cox multivariable analysis were used to perform the survival analysis. Results: Of 163 patients, 78 (48%) underwent EPP and 85 (52%) eP/D. Induction chemotherapy was significantly administrated more often in the eP/D group (88% vs. 51%). Complete trimodality treatment including induction chemotherapy, radical surgery, and adjuvant radiotherapy was administered in 74% of the eP/D group versus 32% of the EPP group (p < 0.001). The postoperative morbidity rate was higher in the eP/D group (54%) compared to the EPP group (36%) (p = 0.02); no statistically significant differences were identified concerning major complications (EPP 43% vs. eP/D 24%, p = 0.08). No statistical differences were identified in 30-day mortality, 90-day mortality, median disease-free, and overall survival statistics between the two groups. The Cox multivariable analysis confirmed no induction chemotherapy (HR, 0.5; p = 0.002), RDW (HR, 1.08; p = 0.02), and the presence of pathological nodal disease (HR, 1.99; p = 0.001) as factors associated with worse survival in the entire series. Conclusions: Our data support that eP/D is a well-tolerated procedure allowing the implementation of a trimodality strategy (induction chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy) in most MPM patients. When eP/D is offered in this setting, the oncological results are comparable to EPP. To obtain the best oncological results, the goal of surgical resection should be macroscopic complete resection (R0) in carefully selected patients (clinical N0). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma)
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11 pages, 313 KiB  
Article
Induction Chemotherapy Followed by Pleurectomy Decortication and Hyperthermic Intraoperative Chemotherapy (HITHOC) for Early-Stage Epitheliod Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma—A Prospective Report
by Stefano Bongiolatti, Francesca Mazzoni, Ottavia Salimbene, Enrico Caliman, Carlo Ammatuna, Camilla E. Comin, Lorenzo Antonuzzo and Luca Voltolini
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(23), 5542; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10235542 - 26 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3008
Abstract
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive disease with poor prognosis and the current treatment for early-stage MPM is based on a multimodality therapy regimen involving platinum-based chemotherapy preceding or following surgery. To enhance the cytoreductive role of surgery, some peri- or intra-operative [...] Read more.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive disease with poor prognosis and the current treatment for early-stage MPM is based on a multimodality therapy regimen involving platinum-based chemotherapy preceding or following surgery. To enhance the cytoreductive role of surgery, some peri- or intra-operative intracavitary treatments have been developed, such as hyperthermic chemotherapy, but long-term results are weak. The aim of this study was to report the post-operative results and mid-term outcomes of our multimodal intention-to-treat pathway, including induction chemotherapy, followed by surgery and Hyperthermic Intraoperative THOracic Chemotherapy (HITHOC) in the treatment of early-stage epithelioid MPM. Since 2017, stage I or II epithelioid MPM patients have been inserted in a surgery-based multimodal approach comprising platinum-based induction chemotherapy, followed by pleurectomy and decortication (P/D) and HITHOC with cisplatin. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and progression-free survival (PFS). During the study period, n = 65 patients affected by MPM were evaluated by our institutional Multidisciplinary Tumour Board; n = 12 patients with stage I-II who had no progression after induction chemotherapy underwent P/D and HITHOC. Post-operative mortality was 0, and complications developed in n = 7 (58.3%) patients. The median estimated OS was 31 months with a 1-year and 3-year OS of 100% and 55%, respectively. The median PFS was 26 months with 92% of a 1-year PFS, whereas DFS was 19 months with a 1-year DFS rate of 83%. The multimodal treatment of early-stage epithelioid MPM, including induction chemotherapy followed by P/D and HITHOC, was well tolerated and feasible with promising mid-term oncological results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma)
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16 pages, 3476 KiB  
Article
IRF3 Knockout Results in Partial or Complete Rejection of Murine Mesothelioma
by Masaya Aoki, Licun Wu, Junichi Murakami, Yidan Zhao, Hana Yun and Marc de Perrot
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(21), 5196; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10215196 - 07 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2794
Abstract
Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MESO) has a poor prognosis despite aggressive treatment with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and novel therapeutic approaches are needed. IRF3 is a downstream molecule of the cGAS/STING signaling pathway, but its roles have not been investigated in MESO. Methods: [...] Read more.
Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MESO) has a poor prognosis despite aggressive treatment with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and novel therapeutic approaches are needed. IRF3 is a downstream molecule of the cGAS/STING signaling pathway, but its roles have not been investigated in MESO. Methods: Various murine mesothelioma cell lines were inoculated into wild type (WT) and IRF3 knockout (IRF3KO) mice to compare tumor growth. AE17-bearing mice were treated with local radiotherapy (LRT) to evaluate the effect on tumor growth, and immune cell infiltration was analyzed by flow cytometry 20 days after tumor inoculation. TCGA data were used to examine the relationship between mRNA expression of IRF3 and genes of the cGAS/STING signaling cascade on prognosis in MESO. Correlations between gene expression of IRF3, cGAS/STING signaling pathway, and immune checkpoints were analyzed in TCGA MESO and our scRNA-Seq data from MESO patients. Results: In mouse mesothelioma models, AK7, RN5 and ZiP3 were completely rejected in IRF3KO mice 20 days after the tumor challenge. AE17tumor volume was slightly larger than WT mice around day 10 before shrinking and becoming significantly smaller than WT mice on day 20. LRT accelerated tumor shrinkage of AE17 tumors in IRF3KO mice. Compared with WT mice, the number of macrophages infiltrating the tumor of IRF3KO mice was significantly reduced, and CD4+ T cells and CD8+IFNγ+ T cells were significantly increased. TCGA data showed that IRF3 expression was an unfavorable prognostic factor in MESO patients. IRF3 expression, the cGAS/STING signaling pathway, and immune checkpoints were positively correlated. Conclusion: IRF3 could play a critical role in the tumor immune microenvironment of MESO. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma)
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12 pages, 613 KiB  
Article
Extended Pleurectomy/Decortication for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Humanitas’s Experience
by Giuseppe Mangiameli, Edoardo Bottoni, Emanuele Voulaz, Umberto Cariboni, Alberto Testori, Alessandro Crepaldi, Veronica Maria Giudici, Emanuela Morenghi and Marco Alloisio
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(21), 4968; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10214968 - 26 Oct 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1888
Abstract
Background: We analysed a series of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients who consecutively underwent extended Pleurectomy/Decortication (eP/D) in a centre with a high level of thoracic surgery experience (IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital) to explore postoperative morbidity and mortality, pattern of recurrence and survival. [...] Read more.
Background: We analysed a series of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients who consecutively underwent extended Pleurectomy/Decortication (eP/D) in a centre with a high level of thoracic surgery experience (IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital) to explore postoperative morbidity and mortality, pattern of recurrence and survival. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on MPM patients underwent eP/D in our centre from 2010 to 2021. All patients were identified from our departmental database. Postoperative complications were scored according to Clavien–Dindo criteria. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan–Meier methods and Cox multivariable analysis. Results: Eighty-five patients underwent extended pleurectomy decortication (eP/D) during study period. Macroscopical residual disease (R2) was reported in one case. A neoadjuvant chemotherapy regiment was administrated in 88% of the surgical cohort. A complete trimodality treatment including induction with platinum agents and pemetrexed, radical cytoreductive surgery and volumetric modulated arc therapy technology (VMAT) could be administered in 63 patients (74%). Postoperative morbidity rate was 54.11%, major complications (defined as Clavien–Dindo ≥ 3) were reported in 11 patients (12.9%). Thirty-day mortality and 90-day mortality were, respectively, 2.35% and 3.53%. Median disease-free and overall survival were, respectively, 13.7 and 25.5 months. The occurrence of major complications (Clavien–Dindo ≥ 3), operative time, pT3–T4, pathological node involvement (pN+) were prognostic factors associated with worse survival. Conclusions: In our experience, eP/D is a well-tolerated procedure with acceptable mortality and morbidity, allowing for the administration of trimodality regimens in most patients. eP/D offered in a multimodality treatment setting have satisfactory long term oncological results. To obtain best oncological results the goal of surgery should be macroscopic complete resection in carefully selected patients (clinical N0). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma)
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11 pages, 939 KiB  
Article
Serum Calretinin as a Biomarker in Malignant Mesothelioma
by Cita Zupanc, Alenka Franko, Danijela Štrbac, Metoda Dodič Fikfak, Viljem Kovač, Vita Dolžan and Katja Goričar
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(21), 4875; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10214875 - 22 Oct 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3242
Abstract
The early diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma (MM) could improve the prognosis of MM patients. To confirm an MM diagnosis, an immunohistochemical analysis of several tumor tissue markers, including calretinin, is currently required. Our aim is to evaluate serum calretinin as a potential biomarker [...] Read more.
The early diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma (MM) could improve the prognosis of MM patients. To confirm an MM diagnosis, an immunohistochemical analysis of several tumor tissue markers, including calretinin, is currently required. Our aim is to evaluate serum calretinin as a potential biomarker in asbestos-related diseases, especially in MM. Our study includes 549 subjects: 164 MM patients, 117 subjects with asbestosis, 195 subjects with pleural plaques and 73 occupationally asbestos-exposed subjects without asbestos-related diseases. The serum calretinin concentration was determined with a commercially available enzyme immunoassay. Data on the soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP) concentration are available from previous studies. MM patients had a significantly higher calretinin concentration than subjects without disease, subjects with pleural plaques or subjects with asbestosis (all p < 0.001). The histological type was significantly associated with serum calretinin: patients with sarcomatoid MM had lower calretinin than patients with the epithelioid type (p = 0.001). In a ROC curve analysis, the area under the curve for calretinin concentration predicting MM was 0.826 (95% CI = 0.782–0.869; p < 0.001). At the cutoff value of 0.32 ng/mL, sensitivity was 0.683, while specificity was 0.886. The combination of calretinin and SMRP had the highest predictive value. Calretinin is a useful biomarker that can distinguish MM from other asbestos-related diseases and could, therefore, contribute to an earlier non-invasive diagnosis of MM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma)
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Review

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26 pages, 23565 KiB  
Review
The Prognostic Value of 18F-FDG PET Imaging at Staging in Patients with Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: A Literature Review
by Silvia Taralli, Romina Grazia Giancipoli, Carmelo Caldarella, Valentina Scolozzi, Sara Ricciardi, Giuseppe Cardillo and Maria Lucia Calcagni
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11010033 - 22 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2830
Abstract
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive malignancy, frequently diagnosed at locally-advanced/metastatic stages. Due to a very poor prognosis and limited treatment options, the need to identify new prognostic markers represents a great clinical challenge. The prognostic role of metabolic information derived from [...] Read more.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive malignancy, frequently diagnosed at locally-advanced/metastatic stages. Due to a very poor prognosis and limited treatment options, the need to identify new prognostic markers represents a great clinical challenge. The prognostic role of metabolic information derived from Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with 18F-Fluoro-deoxy-glucose (18F-FDG) has been investigated in different MPM settings, however with no definitive consensus. In this comprehensive review, the prognostic value of FDG-PET imaging exclusively performed at staging in MPM patients was evaluated, conducting a literature search on PubMed/MEDLINE from 2010 to 2020. From the 19 selected studies, despite heterogeneity in several aspects, staging FDG-PET imaging emerges as a valuable prognostic biomarker, with higher tumor uptake predictive of worse prognosis, and with volumetric metabolic parameters like Metabolic Tumor Volume, (MTV) and Total Lesion Glycolisis (TLG) performing better than SUVmax. However, PET uptake parameters were not always confirmed as independent prognostic factors, especially in patients previously treated with pleurodesis and with a non-epithelioid histotype. Future prospective studies in larger and clinically homogeneous populations, and using more standardized methods of PET images analysis, are needed to further validate the value of staging FDG-PET in the prognostic MPM stratification, with a potential impact on better patient-tailored treatment planning, in the perspective of personalized medicine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma)
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10 pages, 253 KiB  
Review
Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Nodal Status: Where Are We at?
by Sara Ricciardi, Francesco Carleo, Massimo O. Jaus, Marco Di Martino, Luigi Carbone, Alberto Ricci and Giuseppe Cardillo
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(21), 5177; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10215177 - 05 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1471
Abstract
Due to the lack of both prospective trial and high-volume retrospective studies, the management of clinical N+ malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients remains highly debated. Node positive patients show poor survival compared with node-negative ones; thus, lymph node staging appears crucial in determining [...] Read more.
Due to the lack of both prospective trial and high-volume retrospective studies, the management of clinical N+ malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients remains highly debated. Node positive patients show poor survival compared with node-negative ones; thus, lymph node staging appears crucial in determining treatment strategy. Notwithstanding the improvement in pre-treatment staging and the update on lymph node classification in the 8th edition of TNM, several open controversies remain on N parameter. How should we stage suspected N+ patients? How should we treat node positive patients? Which is the definition of a “resectable patient”? Is the site or the number the main prognostic factor for node positive patients? The aim of our narrative review is to analyse the existing relevant literature on lymph node status in MPM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma)

Other

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14 pages, 3586 KiB  
Systematic Review
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Pleurectomy/Decortication versus Extrapleural Pneumonectomy in the Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
by Federica Danuzzo, Sebastiano Maiorca, Gianluca Bonitta and Mario Nosotti
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(19), 5544; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11195544 - 22 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1363
Abstract
Objective: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive malignant cancer for which there are poor treatment options. Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and pleurectomy decortication (P/D) are the two most used surgical procedures in patients with resectable disease. We reviewed the available literature [...] Read more.
Objective: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive malignant cancer for which there are poor treatment options. Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and pleurectomy decortication (P/D) are the two most used surgical procedures in patients with resectable disease. We reviewed the available literature in order to compare the overall survival and postoperative complications of EPP and P/D and to provide evidence for the best procedure in the treatment of MPM. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature, including studies from August 2018 to May 2022. The primary outcome was 5-year overall survival (OS) and the secondary outcomes were 30-day mortality, 90-day mortality and peri-operative complications. Results: Thirteen studies were considered, including a total of 1624 patients treated with EPP and 2147 treated with P/D. The estimated pooled HR showed a significant lower hazard for P/D compared to EPP in terms of OS (HR = 0.76; 95% CI from 0.62 to 0.94; p < 0.001). In 12 studies, the risk for 30-day mortality was lower for patients treated with P/D (RR = 0.49; 95% CI from 0.31 to 0.76; p = <0.01), whereas only five studies reported 90-day mortality, and no statistically significant difference between EPP and P/D was found (RR = 0.71; 95% CI from 0.47 to 1.07; p = 0.10). The OS restricted mean survival time difference meta-analysis (RMSDT) confirms the superior survival of P/D on the EPP, a superiority that increases from 0.54 months at one year to 4.23 at five years. The incidence of postoperative empyema, atrial fibrillation, bleeding and bronchopleural fistula was significantly increased in the EPP group except for prolonged air leakage, which is only characteristic of P/D. Conclusions: Using two different statistical methods, this meta-analysis suggests that long-term survival after surgical treatment for resectable MPM is greater for patients undergoing P/D. Long-term survival had never been previously analyzed with appropriate tests; on the contrary, our result is consistent with the previous meta-analyses and reinforces the evidence of lower 30-day mortality and the prevalence of postoperative complications in P/D versus EPP patients. The recent introduction of innovative therapeutic schemes, both adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy, keeps the discussion on surgical strategy open and will require new studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma)
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