Physicians at the University of Pennsylvania may have found a way to increase the lifespan of mesothelioma patients. These findings came from a study published in the June 2011 issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and were largely unexpected given that the original purpose of the study was to see if intraoperative photodynamic therapy (PDT) in conjunction with surgery had any effect.
Fourteen mesothelioma patients underwent modified extrapleural pneumonectomy (MEPP), and fourteen underwent radical pleurectomy (RP). MEPP is an invasive surgery whereby the infected lining and lung is removed. RP is a similar procedure involving the removal of lung lining only. Both groups were treated with PDT, an experimental procedure using light and photosensitzers. The group that underwent RP had astonishing extensions in their lifespan.
"Unlike patients who receive traditional lung sacrificing surgery for mesothelioma, the patients in our study who underwent lung sparing surgery
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