Future developments in the management of malignant pleural mesothelioma

Abstract

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumor with a poor prognosis and an increasing incidence as a result of widespread exposure to asbestos. In the past few years, there have been several developments in the management of patients with MPM, including more accurate staging and patient selection, improvements in surgical techniques and postoperative care, novel chemotherapy regimens and new radiotherapy techniques. However, chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment, considering that surgery and radiotherapy have a limited role in highly selected patients, and its results are still modest, with a median survival of approximately 1 year. The principal goals of this review are to summarize the improvements in the management of MPM that have been achieved recently and to outline the therapeutic approaches in development.