Whether you’ve been diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma or malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, having an accurate assessment of the extent of your disease is essential to creating the most effective treatment plan. A new study has revealed that when it comes to peritoneal mesothelioma, MRI provides a more accurate picture of how far the disease has advanced.
Mesothelioma Staging Determines Treatment Protocol
Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma impacts the pleura located in the abdominal region. It can be treated surgically using a technique known as HIPEC, which involves both surgical removal of the tumors followed by a rinse of heated chemotherapy. But this treatment’s usefulness is limited to those whose tumors are not advanced beyond surgery’s reach.
Determining how far peritoneal mesothelioma tumors have advanced is a challenge: the only certain method is surgery. But the certainty it provides could be an unnecessary step for patients who are already medically fragile whose disease has progressed beyond surgery’s help. That is why finding the best diagnostic tool is so essential.
MRI Shown to Be Superior to CT for Assessing Mesothelioma’s Progress
Determining the best diagnostic tool for staging cancer is essential for diseases beyond malignant mesothelioma. It is also important for patients suffering from appendiceal and colorectal cancer also need to be staged. So researchers from top US cancer centers studied the accuracy of MRI and CT for use in all of them.
Their study included 488 patients with mesothelioma, and showed that though CT is helpful, MRI was shown to be more accurate in showing the invasiveness of the individual patient’s disease. This knowledge will help surgeons determine whether to subject future patients to surgery, and should provide extended survival and more successful outcomes.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, having the most accurate information is essential to getting the best treatment and highest quality of life. For information and access to resources, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
