Malignant pleural mesothelioma: beyond the mathematical models

Nowadays, the question on whether performing surgical resection in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients is an open and endless debate. The treatment of MPM is still surrounded by controversies based on the results of retrospective studies, institutional and personal experiences, empirical observations, clinical judgments and habits. The most significant “dogma” frightening most clinicians is that MPM has an unfavorable prognosis, even in those cases receiving surgery. This is particularly true if considering that only a few surgically-treated patients experience a prolonged survival, ranging from 18% to 20% at 3 years in favorable cases (1,2).