Mesothelioma Survival Rates

When talking about mesothelioma or cancer in general, the survival rate is the number of people who have been diagnosed that are still alive at the five year mark. With many cancers – particularly those that can be successfully treated – if a person makes it to the five year point, then the cancer is unlikely to come back.

For mesothelioma, the survival rate at five years is about 9%. This means that roughly 9% of people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma remain alive five years after the diagnosis. Currently, there are no statistics available to determine what the survival rate is for people who are diagnosed at different stages of mesothelioma or based on the treatments received.

Patients diagnosed with both pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma are frequently told that they have less than a year to live. Mesothelioma specialists, however, are sometimes able to beat the odds through clinical trials and other procedures that are not yet in wide practice.

One huge factor in determining the survival rate is the stage of the disease when it is diagnosed. If it is diagnosed in stage one or very early, the survival rate may increase as a person may be a candidate for surgery. Other factors include the size of the tumor, the amount of fluid in the chest or abdomen from the tumor, the health of the patient, the age of the patient, and the type of the cancer cells as judged by appearance.

There have been reports of individuals who have been diagnosed in the early stages of mesothelioma as having a 50% chance of survival to the two year point. There are not, however, studies and generally available statistics to detail the chance of survival by stage or age.

For more information on mesothelioma survival rates, please call 1-800-781-3955.