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Current surgical strategies for malignant pleural mesothelioma

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Abstract

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is associated with a poor prognosis. The main components of multimodality treatment include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Surgery remains controversial. Two procedures are currently offered: extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and pleurectomy/decortication (P/D). The recent scientific literature suggests that P/D is a well-tolerated procedure, with the potential of becoming a default procedure in multimodality regimens. However, the precise treatment schemes and surgical procedures are yet to be established. In our study, we review the advantages and disadvantages of EPP and P/D, summarize the post-EPP and post-P/D observations (including mortality, morbidity, and median survival time), and discuss the choice of surgical technique (EPP vs. P/D). Moreover, we highlight the aspects of the multimodality treatments that are offered to MPM patients, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, and other types of therapy.

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  1. Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1Mukogawacho Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan

    Teruhisa Takuwa & Seiki Hasegawa

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  1. Teruhisa Takuwa
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Correspondence to Teruhisa Takuwa.

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Takuwa, T., Hasegawa, S. Current surgical strategies for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Surg Today 46, 887–894 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-015-1275-3

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