Malignant pleural mesothelioma: A single-center experience in Turkey

Source of support: Departmental sources Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare lethal malignancy caused by asbestos exposure. It is more frequent-ly seen in certain regions in Turkey. In this retrospective study, we aimed to analyse demographic, clinical, and pathological data and treatment-related features in 54 patients. Material/Methods: The study included 54 patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma that were followed and treated. Results: Of the 54 patients, 34 (55.6%) were male. The median age in men and women were 60.3 (38.2–77.2) and 65.8 (37.7–77.5) years, respectively. In 35 (64.8%), exposure to asbestosis was present. Epithelial type was found in 27 (50.0%), followed by mixed type in 7 (13.0%) patients, and in 20 (37.0%) patients the subtype could not be determined. The disease was staged as IV in 37 (68.5%) patients. In 28 patients (51.9%), it was right-sid-ed and in 1 (1.9%) it was bilateral. The most frequent metastatic sites (in decreasing order) were lungs, me-diastinum, diaphragm, liver, and thoracal wall. Of the 54 patients, 36 (66.6%) received 1st-line chemotherapy and 20 (37%) 2nd-line chemotherapy. Eighteen patients (33.3%) received radiotherapy; 11 (20.3%) with palli-ative intention and 7 (12.9%) with curative intention. Median overall survival (OS) was 12.03 months (95 % CI 7.2–16.8). OS was not affected by sex (p=0.32), smoking history (p=0.51), alcohol consumption (p=0.36), fami-ly history (p=0.67), pleural effusion presence (p=0.80), operation (p=0.14), clinical stage (p=0.072), symptom a