Mesothelioma Survival Rate

What Is the Mesothelioma Survival Rate?

Mesothelioma survival rates are the percentage of cancer patients alive 1 year or more after diagnosis. 

Key Facts About Mesothelioma Survival Rate

• The 5-year survival rate for peritoneal mesothelioma is 65%.
• The 5-year survival rate for pleural mesothelioma is 12%.
• SEER’s data from 2000-2020 show a rise in survival rates. The 1-year, 3-year and 5-year relative survival rates are trending up.
• The average survival after a patient’s diagnosis is 18 months, with a 1-year survival rate of 73% for pleural and 92% for peritoneal.

Statistics may not apply to any one individual. Some mesothelioma patients may live for a long time after treatment. For example, peritoneal mesothelioma survivor Tammy Frank has been alive 25 years beyond her life expectancy.

Survival rates for mesothelioma depend on a few factors, including the cancer’s location and stage. They also depend on the patient’s health and treatments. The top ways to treat mesothelioma are surgery, chemo, radiation and immunotherapy.

What Do Mesothelioma Survival Rates Mean for You?

Your doctor will use mesothelioma survival rate data to assess your prognosis. This data is based on thousands of cases. It averages patient survival times. It can’t predict your outcome. But, it can show you what happened to similar patients. 

Survival rate data is one piece of the puzzle. A doctor uses it to find the best mesothelioma treatment for you. For example, stats show younger patients survive at higher rates. They can qualify for aggressive treatments. If you’re a younger patient, your doctor may recommend surgery, for example.

Experience From a Mesothelioma Survivor

There have been people who survived way beyond what the statistics say. I plan on being one of those. I have a lot of people counting on me being around. I’m not going to disappoint them.

Tina Herford, peritoneal mesothelioma survivor

What Factors Affect Your Mesothelioma Survival Rates?

Survival rates for mesothelioma vary depending on factors such as the cancer’s stage, location and treatment type. Age, gender and overall health also matter. These affect how long a person will live after a mesothelioma diagnosis.

Factors Affecting Mesothelioma Survival

• Age: Younger patients have a higher survival rate of mesothelioma.
• Cell type: Epithelial mesothelioma tends to respond better to treatment and has a higher survival rate.
• Disease stage: As the cancer spreads, survival rates decline.
• Gender: Women tend to have a higher survival rate of mesothelioma than men.
• Genetics: Some genes can help mesothelioma patients live longer.
• Location: The survival rate is higher for peritoneal mesothelioma.
• Overall health: Patients in better health tend to live longer with mesothelioma.
• Type of treatment: Aggressive treatments can lead to better outcomes.

Women and younger patients tend to live longer. Those with peritoneal tumors, early-stage disease or epithelioid cells often live a longer life. So do those who pursue multimodal therapy.

Insight From a Mesothelioma Specialist

What frustrates me most, and I hear this often with new patients, is, ‘I just saw my doctor today, and they said I have a year to 16 months to live.’ That is not the case. You’re an individual. This is your story.

Karen Selby, RN, patient advocate at The Mesothelioma Center

Tumor Location and Type

Peritoneal mesothelioma has a much better survival rate than pleural disease. About 65% of all peritoneal mesothelioma patients survive for 5 years or more. This is 5 times the 5-year survival rate compared to pleural patients. 

Eligible patients with asbestos-related cancer in the peritoneum live between 31 and 103 months when treated with Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy or HIPEC. This procedure delivers warm chemo directly into the belly after surgery to destroy remaining cancer cells.

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Cancer Stage

The stage of mesothelioma at diagnosis is a strong predictor of your overall survival. The SEER Program groups cancer survival rates into: localized, regional and distant stages. This grouping distills the 4 stages of pleural mesothelioma into 3. “Localized” represents stage 1. “Regional” roughly represents stages 2 and 3. “Distant” represents stage 4.

People with localized mesothelioma have better survival rates than regional or distant stages, if treated quickly. They’re more likely to qualify for surgery and other aggressive treatments. More aggressive therapies are linked to better outcomes.

Mesothelioma Cell Type

The types of cells that make up tumors impact patient survival. Mesothelioma has 3 cell types, which define the key subtypes of this cancer.

Subtypes of Mesothelioma 

• Epithelioid
• Sarcomatoid
• Biphasic

Epithelioid tumors respond best to treatment, with patients who undergo surgery surviving about 18 months. Meanwhile, those with sarcomatoid tumors average closer to 5–11 months.

Biphasic tumors have epithelioid and sarcomatoid features. A higher count of epithelial cells means a better prognosis for mesothelioma patients. If a patient’s cancer is mostly sarcomatoid cells, their mesothelioma life expectancy is lower. 

Gender

Women diagnosed with mesothelioma tend to have longer survival rates compared to men. This trend holds true regardless of age, mesothelioma stage, race or treatment type. 

Researchers are exploring why women with mesothelioma live longer than men. Women are also more likely to be diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. This type of mesothelioma has better survival than pleural tumors. This skews survival rates to favor women, who live longer on average.

Age

Age is a significant factor in mesothelioma survival rates. Younger people with mesothelioma have better survival outcomes compared to older patients, as younger individuals often respond better to treatment.

How Age Plays a Role

• Approximately 75% of mesothelioma patients diagnosed before age 50 survive at least 1 year after diagnosis. 
• Only 44% of patients aged 65 or older with mesothelioma live for 1 year after diagnosis. 

Younger patients are usually healthier. So, they can usually tolerate more aggressive and effective therapies. They’re also less likely to have other, lasting health issues at the same time. Older patients are more likely to have other lung diseases, diabetes or a history of cancer.

Overall Health and Genetics

Mesothelioma patients with a history of smoking, heavy alcohol use or poor diet tend to have lower survival rates. Coexisting conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, can affect your survival as well.

Overall Health and Mesothelioma Survival

• Alcohol and tobacco: Heavy alcohol use and smoking can lower mesothelioma survival.
• Coexisting medical conditions: Chronic issues, such as heart or lung disease and diabetes, reduce mesothelioma survival.
• Exercise: Regular exercise is vital for good health.
• Genetics: Black patients with mesothelioma survive at a higher rate than white patients.
• Nutrition: Drinking enough water can help. A high-calorie, nutritious diet can help as well.

Good nutrition and exercise can help you live longer. A healthy diet and regular exercise help patients respond better to cancer treatment. Your genes and family history also play a role. 

Mesothelioma Survival Rates by Type

Mesothelioma survival rates depend on the type and stage of the cancer. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type. It’s more aggressive and harder to detect early. Most patients live 12 to 21 months after diagnosis. Stage 1 pleural mesothelioma has an average survival of about 21 months or more, while stage 4 has an average survival of roughly 12 months to 24 months.

Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the abdomen. It responds better to treatment. For example, surgery and heated chemo or HIPEC greatly boosts survival in patients.

Pericardial mesothelioma is a rare cancer around the heart. It’s usually diagnosed late. The average life expectancy is 3 to 10 months. Treatment is mainly for symptom relief. Testicular mesothelioma is the rarest type, affecting the area around the testes. Patients often live 20 months to 2 years, depending on the stage and treatment.

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Comparing 5-Year Survival Rates

The 5-year survival rate is 12% for pleural mesothelioma. For peritoneal mesothelioma, it’s 65%.

Many peritoneal patients live more than 5 years if treated early. We also work with pleural patients who have lived more than 5 years from the time of their diagnosis. Michael Cole, for example, is a 10-year pleural mesothelioma survivor.

How To Improve Your Mesothelioma Survival

Many factors can improve your personal survival and help improve the overall survival rate for mesothelioma patients. An early diagnosis and access to new treatments, such as immunotherapy and targeted therapies, play a critical role in extending survival. 

Ways to Improve Mesothelioma Survival

• Early detection: Improves prognosis.
• Clinical trials: Offer access to cutting-edge treatments.
• Healthy lifestyle: Supports the body during treatment.

Long-term survivors say coordinated care and clinical trials helped them. Some survivors also emphasize the importance of lifestyle changes. For example, a healthier diet helped them after diagnosis. Chemo, surgery and immunotherapy can also help people live longer.

Your prognosis isn’t based only on mesothelioma survival stats. A 5-year survival rate doesn’t show how mesothelioma cancer symptoms may affect your quality of life. Each person reacts differently to treatment. 

Surviving Mesothelioma

Your overall health and treatment for mesothelioma may help you live longer than the survival rates suggest. The 5-year survival rates don’t consider the most recent advances in medicine.

Statistics may be a source of comfort for some people and confusing or frightening for others. However, survival rates only consider people diagnosed in the past. Those diagnosed today may have more therapy choices and a better chance of survival. New treatments are helping people live longer.

Exclusive Content | Brunilda Villareal: What would you tell people about life after recovering from mesothelioma? View Transcript

I think that thought that, to live the moment, becomes very real.

Because we had been living live the year type of thing. You know?

But after recovery, we’re more aware of things that are happening to us. And we do things more programmed, you know, like, we want to do this. I mean, like, now it’s not only that we have a bucket list. Now it’s that we have a we’re going to do this list. That yes, there is a tomorrow, but we’re planning for it.

That tomorrow is very important. It’s sacred, you know, that I like to use I’d like to use that word that it’s sacred. Your life is sacred and that we’re more mindful of it and that we understand it more. That it could be taken away from you and, through no fault of your own. And we’re just more mindful of of that sacred life that we have.

“We had been living a ‘live the year’ type of thing. But after recovery, now it’s not only that we have a bucket list. We have a ‘we’re going to do this’ list,” Brunilda Villareal, the wife of a mesothelioma survivor, told us. “Tomorrow is very important. It’s sacred.”

Asbestos.com Expert Takeaway

Expert Takeaways on Survival Rate

• Recent trials of one type of mesothelioma vaccine saw 55% 2-year and 21% 5-year survival for pleural patients. The average 2-year survival is usually 18% and 5-year is 12%.
• Trials of new approaches aiming to improve life expectancy are ongoing. And many factors affect an individual’s personal life expectancy including how early someone is diagnosed.

“New therapies, like immunotherapy and vaccines, are changing how we treat cancer. “Hopefully, these trends will lead to longer survival and a cure.”

Dr. Daniel Landau, medical director of virtual hematology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston

Common Questions About Mesothelioma Survival Rates

What is the average mesothelioma survival rate?

Based on tumor location alone, survival rates vary. The average 5-year survival rate for pleural mesothelioma is about 12%. For peritoneal mesothelioma, it’s 65%. Cell type, mesothelioma stage, age, gender and overall health also influence the survival rate.

Can you survive mesothelioma?

Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive and fatal disease, however, some patients have survived more than 10 years after their diagnosis. While there is no cure for this cancer, remission is possible. While most mesothelioma patients only survive approximately 12 months after diagnosis, treatment may extend mesothelioma survival and there have been advances in care. 

How does the survival rate of mesothelioma compare to the lung cancer survival rate?

The 5-year survival rate for mesothelioma patients is about 12%. The 5-year survival rate for lung cancer patients is about 26.6%.

How can treatment improve mesothelioma survival?

Working with a mesothelioma doctor and undergoing multimodal treatment can extend lifespans for many people. Multimodal means people receive a combination of multiple therapies, such as surgery, chemo, immunotherapy or radiation.

For peritoneal mesothelioma, patients are known to survive multiple years with cytoreductive surgery and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Clinical trials are also available when standard options are no longer effective.

What is the longest someone has lived with mesothelioma?

There are survivors who have lived more than 10 years and, in very rare cases, more than 20 years with mesothelioma. The longest-living survivors generally are diagnosed early, have the epithelioid mesothelioma cell type and receive treatment from a specialized mesothelioma center.