Mesothelioma News: New Cancer Grading System Developed 

A new two tier cancer grading system for peritoneal mesothelioma has been developed. The grading system provides patients with a more accurate prognosis. Furthermore, it is said that this can possibly help doctors design more personalized and effective therapies.

The cancer grading system is different from the cancer staging system. The grade is based on cell appearance and this thus gives an indication of how quickly the cancer tumor is expected to grow. Therefore, the higher the grade the faster the tumor is expected to grow. However, cancer staging involves giving stages to tumors based on their size and extent. Therefore, the higher the number of tumors the more advanced the stage of cancer.

The research was carried out by Dr Edward Levine, core director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital. With a team of surgeons from Wake Forest University of Mississippi and the Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr E. Levine commented that; “we can tell patients now what the future holds and that’s a big deal” because “we can now better prognosticate how our patients are likely to do.”

Grading System Findings

The American Journal of Surgical Pathology published the findings of the research in its September 2016 issue. The researchers used forty six cases in the study. They then divided the group into lower grade and higher grade tiers. These tiers were based on features found in the tumor cell nucleus. Most noteworthy are the study results. They showed that the lower grade tier had a total median survival of eleven point nine years (11.9yrs) and a five year (5yr) rate of fifty seven percent (57%). The higher grade tier showed a total median survival rate of three point three years (3.3yrs) and a five year (5yr) survival rate of thirty five percent (35%).

These research efforts show a move forward in the prognosis of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.