Stage 2 Mesothelioma

Stage 2 Mesothelioma By Type

A patient’s prognosis is largely influenced by the type of mesothelioma and stage of disease. For all forms of mesothelioma cancer at this stage, patients are likely still eligible for curative surgery and other conventional treatments to remove visible tumors and prevent the cancer from spreading any further.

Stage 2 Pleural Mesothelioma

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the only form of the asbestos cancer that has its own staging systems, since it is the most commonly diagnosed. The TNM system, Brigham system and Butchart system can all be used to properly identify the stage of mesothelioma, though the TNM system is the most commonly used and updated. Researchers using the system identify the extent and size of the tumors present, if the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes and if metastasis has occurred to distant sites.

At the most recent update, researchers describe stage 2 mesothelioma as T1-2N1. This means the cancer is either only present in the pleura on one side of the chest (T1) or it has spread locally into the lung itself or the diaphragm (T2). The N1 of the staging signals that the mesothelioma cells have spread to nearby lymph nodes on the same side of the body, but there is no distant spreading. Across the three staging systems, researchers agree that stage 2 indicates that the disease can still be resected.

Stage 2 Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Peritoneal mesothelioma, which develops in the lining of the abdomen, does not have its own staging system because of its rarity. Instead, doctors rely on broader stage 2 mesothelioma characteristics, including localized tumors and limited metastasis that may include some lymph node involvement.

Doctors may also turn to the Peritoneal Cancer Index (PCI), which is another broad staging tool for abdominal cancers. The abdomen is divided into regions and given a score to describe if there are tumors present and their size. The scores for all the regions are totaled, which doctors can then use to approximate a stage. Researchers estimate a score of 11 – 20 indicates stage 2 cancer.

At stage 2, doctors can still pursue one of the most successful multimodal treatments for peritoneal mesothelioma: cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). This combination therapy entails a mesothelioma specialist first removing all visible tumors followed by a heated chemotherapy wash applied to the abdomen, hopefully eradicating any other existing mesothelioma cells. Surgery with HIPEC has been found in some clinical trials to improve 5-year survival rate to at least 50%, with some studies even finding a median survival of 92 months or more.

Because pericardial mesothelioma is rare, there is not a widely accepted staging system for the form of cancer.

Symptoms of Stage 2 Mesothelioma

Since there is some metastasis occurring by stage 2, patients may experience more noticeable symptoms. Still, symptoms are nonspecific and may not be so bothersome at this earlier stage, making it easier for patients to ignore the potential signs of mesothelioma or face a misdiagnosis. At early stages especially, mesothelioma can be mistaken for common illnesses, like the flu.

Stage 2 Mesothelioma Prognosis

An early mesothelioma diagnosis is the best chance for long-term survival. Mesothelioma patients diagnosed at stage 2 have an average life expectancy of 19 months, which can potentially be extended with conventional and emerging treatments. A patient’s prognosis will also differ based on the type and cell type of mesothelioma, gender, age, overall health and a variety of other factors.

In recent years, survival rates for peritoneal and pleural mesothelioma have improved, largely thanks to clinical trials testing new combinations of standard treatments, like chemotherapy, and new treatments, like immunotherapy.

Stage 2 Mesothelioma Treatment

When diagnosed at an earlier stage, mesothelioma patients generally have more treatment options. Since the cancer has limited spreading, surgery to remove the tumors is often recommended in combination with other treatments, like chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In most instances at this stage, treatment has a curative intent, though some of these therapies may also be applied palliatively to help with worsening symptoms.

Surgery

At earlier stages, mesothelioma specialists often utilize aggressive surgeries to remove as many tumors as possible and delay disease progression. Pleural mesothelioma patients, for instance, may undergo a pleurectomy decortication or an extrapleural pneumonectomy to remove diseased membrane and visible tumors. Researchers have found these surgeries can increase 2-year survival rate from 19% when treated with chemotherapy alone to upwards of 40%. However, it’s important to note these surgeries are more invasive and risky compared to other types of treatments.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is considered a standard of care for mesothelioma and is often utilized in combination with other therapies. Many times, mesothelioma surgeries are followed by chemotherapy to kill any remaining cancer cells. The multimodal treatment plan has successfully extended survival for some patients, like surgery and HIPEC achieving a median survival of 53 months across various clinical trials.

Researchers have found chemotherapy alone is not always the most effective at extending life expectancy, with some clinical trials finding an average survival of 16 months for pleural mesothelioma patients treated with the standard alimta and cisplatin. However, additional clinical trials have found systemic chemotherapy can extend survival from about 12 months to 39 months for patients with recurrent mesothelioma previously treated with radical surgery and chemotherapy.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation is sometimes recommended in combination with surgery and chemotherapy for patients diagnosed at earlier stages. Radiation is a targeted, localized therapy that kills cancer cells and stops them from reproducing. Since the therapy can also easily destroy healthy tissue, it is considered ineffective as mesothelioma continues to advanced stages and spreads to more distant organs in the body.

Clinical Trials

Emerging treatments from immunotherapy to photodynamic therapy have shown promise in effectively treating malignant mesothelioma. In fact, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently revised its first-line treatment recommendation for pleural mesothelioma cases where surgery is not an option to include immunotherapy. For decades, the first-line treatment was a combination of chemotherapy, but now includes a triplet therapy with the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab (Avastin).

Other types of immunotherapy have also shown success, like personalized cancer vaccines. In early-phase clinical trials, researchers have found the treatment could extend survival to at least 24 months, with some patients surviving to 55 and 60 months at the most recent follow ups. With continued research into these new treatments, mesothelioma patients and their loved ones have more hope for extended survival.