Facing a mesothelioma diagnosis can be frightening, and many patients may ask what their life expectancy is with such a diagnosis, and may ask, “Is mesothelioma fatal?” Unfortunately, mesothelioma is often diagnosed at its later stages, and by the time it is diagnosed, it has often advanced in severity.

If a patient is diagnosed at a late stage of mesothelioma, the average life expectancy is less than a year. Statistics indicate that only five percent of people with advanced mesothelioma can expect to live for five years after their diagnosis.

How to Improve Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

Experts agree that the best way to increase mesothelioma life expectancy is to detect the disease early. This allows a patient to take advantage of the most treatment options possible. This is particularly important, as cancer is not yet curable, and available treatments work best when the cancer is not yet advanced.

Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos, and the time between exposure and diagnosis can be decades long. Some studies indicate that when mesothelioma is caught early (still localized) and aggressive treatment options are applied, around 50 percent of mesothelioma patients will have a life expectancy of two years, around one-fifth of patients may have a life expectancy of five years; in comparison, those with advanced mesothelioma may have a year of life left.

Mesothelioma: Overview

Mesothelioma is a malignant cancer that forms in the lining of the body called the mesothelium. Unlike other forms of cancer, which are typically associated with genetic and lifestyle risks, mesothelioma is almost always seen in patients who have previously been exposed to asbestos. It may take 20 to 50 years, or even more, for mesothelioma to show up after asbestos exposure, so it is good to be aware of the warning signs.

There are several types of mesothelioma including:

• Pleural mesothelioma: a form of cancer affecting the pleura (tissue layer lining the lungs);
• Peritoneal mesothelioma: cancer affecting the peritoneum (tissue layer which lines the abdominal cavity);
• Pericardial mesothelioma: mesothelioma occurring in the pericardium (layer of tissue surrounding the heart).

Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of the malignant cancer. Peritoneal mesothelioma is the second most common. Pericardial mesothelioma and other forms of the cancer that affect the testicles are much rarer.

Symptoms of mesothelioma will depend on the type of cancer a patient suffers from. Pleural mesothelioma symptoms may include chest wall pain, fluid surrounding the lung, fatigue, coughing up blood, wheezing, and more. Peritoneal mesothelioma symptoms may include abdominal pain, weight loss, fever, night sweats, digestion problems, and more.

Although mesothelioma may start in a certain area, it can spread – or metastasize – to other parts of the body. This can happen through tissue, the lymphatic system, and blood.

Usually, a mesothelioma diagnosis includes imaging such as CT scans and x-rays following a physical exam. Biopsies of diseased tissue may be taken to test the cells and identify the cancer. Further testing may be required to see if the cancer has spread.

Staging & Life Expectancy

Identifying the stage or severity of mesothelioma gives insight into what the life expectancy for a patient will be. The American Cancer Society uses a staging system that groups mesothelioma into three categories — localized, regional, and distant.

Localized mesothelioma is the least severe form of the disease, and is the most treatable. In localized mesothelioma, cancer has not spread beyond the pleura. Regional mesothelioma is more advanced than localized mesothelioma. In this stage, cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or other structures. The most severe stage of mesothelioma is distant mesothelioma, in which the cancer has spread to parts of the body that are far away from the pleura. This may include the bones, liver, or other tissues.

The American Cancer Society provides average five-year survival rates for each of these stages based on information from mesothelioma patients diagnosed between 2008 and 2015.

Reportedly, those patients with localized mesothelioma have a 20 percent likelihood of surviving five years after diagnosis. Those with regional mesothelioma reportedly have a 12 percent likelihood of surviving for five years, and those with advanced, or distant, mesothelioma have an 8 percent five-year survival rate.

The American Cancer Society also notes that the average five-year survival rate for patients with any stage of mesothelioma is 10 percent.

Contributing Factors

Reportedly, some people are more at risk of a mesothelioma diagnosis than others. These people may include those who worked with asbestos or were exposed to it, as asbestos exposure has been linked to mesothelioma, among other health conditions, explains Mayo Clinic. Patients who are particularly at risk for mesothelioma may want to consider early screening, as early detection is the best tool for increasing life expectancy.

Some other factors that affect mesothelioma life expectancy include the age at which someone was diagnosed, what kind of mesothelioma a person has, whether the patient smoked, as well as their overall health.

Mesothelioma is usually connected with asbestos exposure, says Mayo Clinic. A new study from BMJ Case Reports provides more information about the nature of asbestos’s connection to mesothelioma. Unfortunately, the new research indicates that any amount of asbestos exposure may put people at risk of developing mesothelioma.

This new research was conducted in the form of a case study — researchers examined the experience of a patient who had only been exposed to a small amount of asbestos but who developed mesothelioma. Allegedly, that small exposure caused them to develop the disease. Previously, it was though that a person had to be exposed to a higher amount of asbestos to be at risk of developing mesothelioma. 

Even with this new information, those patients who worked around or with asbestos are still seen to be most likely to develop mesothelioma. The National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD) explains that around 70 to 80 percent of people who develop mesothelioma have a history of significant asbestos exposure, like those who worked in shipyards. Advanced screening may be recommended for those individuals who work around asbestos and are concerned about mesothelioma risks, to help give them the best defense against the disease. 

Mayo Clinic does note that most people who have had asbestos exposure do not develop mesothelioma. Happily, mesothelioma is extremely rare. Around 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed annually in the United States, most of whom had significant asbestos exposure. According to the NORD, mesothelioma cases make up less than 1 percent of all cancer diagnoses, affecting around 1 out of every 1,000,000 people in the population.

Multi-million-dollar Jury Awards and Settlements

Oftentimes, jury decisions and lawsuit settlements make headlines because the amounts reach into tens of millions of dollars.

On such case involved a 78-year-old man who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in March 2016 and died in January 2017.

Franklin Fitch worked at a pipe insulation company, Covil Corp. in Wilson, N.C., starting in 1975. When Covil went out of business in 1991, the Firestone Tire Plant purportedly bought almost all of the insulation that was then used to build the tire facility.

Fitch stayed with the plant until 1995. He was a mold changer who worked in an area where the insulated steam pipe went to and from presses, and as a result, allegedly was exposed to 7,000 feet of asbestos-laden insulation that was kept in the facility for more than a decade after it was built.

Evidence showed that Fitch worked near the pipes and often ran into them, which prompted clouds of asbestos-filled dust to be released into the air.

The court also agreed that the company did not provide sufficient warnings of the asbestos insulation even though Covil should have known that asbestos was a carcinogenic material that was linked to the development of mesothelioma among people who breathe in the small particles or swallow the tiny fibers.

Fitch’s widow sued Covil, and a jury awarded her $32.7 million in damages.

On Aug. 24, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the entire damage award.