Why Do Some Mesothelioma Patients Survive Longer?

There have been a number of patients that have survived far beyond the usual one year survival period and a handful that have even been cured, with no trace of the aggressive cancer several years after treatment (though recurrence is always possible). This has stumped many medical professionals as they experience difficulty in explaining why some mesothelioma patients survive and others do not.

Research seems to show one common thread – the immune system. Studies of those who have either survived or been cured of the disease reveal that most of these patients participated in some sort of therapy that enhanced their immune system. Some treatments included clinical trials in immunology while others involved alternative therapies dealing with the immune system.

A report released more than 20 years ago theorized that "the presence of asbestos fibers in exposed workers may have caused the eventual breakdown of the host's surveillance system and the onset of neoplasm [malignant mesothelioma]."

With this philosophy in mind, some researchers believe treatments that improve the immune system can stabilize and even cure the disease. Currently, this is the most prevalent theory in explaining why some patients continue to live a healthy life while mesothelioma is in remission and why others have apparently defeated the disease.