What Should Women With Mesothelioma Know?
What are the unique challenges women should understand when they are diagnosed with mesothelioma.
[MUSIC PLAYING] Women with mesothelioma actually have a much more favorable prognosis. I published a study several years ago looking at thousands of mesothelioma patients, and women had a three-fold better survival than men. We think this may relate to some hormonal influences, some differences in the types of exposure. For example, women may have more commonly secondary exposure versus a direct exposure to asbestos. Or it may be issues of the immune system and immune system surveillance and response to therapy. So it's important for women to know that this is not a death sentence particularly for them, but it's also important for us, as researchers and clinicians, to try to look at ways to harness that and help benefit both women and men by understanding why that is and how that can be used to help all patients do better. [MUSIC PLAYING]
