Preoperative Identification of Benefit from Surgery for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Abstract

In the absence of standardized treatment algorithms for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, one of the main difficulties remains patient allocation to therapies with potential benefit. This article discusses clinical, radiologic, pathologic, and molecular prognostic factors as well as genetic background leading to preoperative identification of benefit from surgery, which have been investigated over the past years to simplify and at the same time specify patient selection for surgical treatment.

Keywords: Malignant pleural mesothelioma; Prognostic factors; Surgery; Survival.