Chest. 2022 Dec 24. pii: S0012-3692(22)04340-9. [Epub ahead of print]
BACKGROUND: The role of cancer-directed surgery in the treatment of stage I-IIIA malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) by histologic subtypes remains controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the survival of the different histologic subtypes for stage I-IIIA MPM stratified by cancer-directed surgery and nonoperative management.
RESEARCH QUESTION: How is the histologic subtype, clinical stage, and use of cancer-directed surgery with MPM associated with overall survival?
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Overall survival of patients with stage I-IIIA epithelioid, sarcomatoid, and biphasic MPM in the National Cancer Database from 2004-2017 who underwent cancer-directed surgery (i.e., surgery with or without chemotherapy + radiation) or chemotherapy with or without radiation ('nonoperative management') was evaluated using KaplanMeier analysis, multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis, and propensity score-matched analysis.
RESULTS: Of 2,285 patients with stage I-IIIA MPM who met inclusion criteria, histologic subtype was epithelioid in 71% of patients, sarcomatoid in 12% of patients, and biphasic in 17% of patients. Median survival was 20 months in the epithelioid group, 8 months in the sarcomatoid group, and 13 months in the biphasic group (P < 0.01). Among patients who underwent surgery, median survival was 25 months in the epithelioid group, 8 months in the sarcomatoid group, and 15 months in the biphasic group (P < 0.01). In multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses, surgery was associated with improved survival in the epithelioid group (P < 0.01) but not in the sarcomatoid (P = 0.63) or biphasic (P = 0.21) groups. These findings were consistent in propensity score-matched analyses for each MPM histology.
INTERPRETATION: In this national analysis, cancer-directed surgery was found to be associated with improved survival for stage I-IIIA epithelioid MPM but not for biphasic or sarcomatoid MPM.
Keywords: Cancer; Mesothelioma; Outcomes; Pleura; cancer-directed surgery