Impact of Age on Long-Term Outcomes of Surgery for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Abstract Background Although malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is generally a disease associated with more advanced age, the association of age, treatment, and outcomes has not been well-characterized. We evaluated the impact of age on outcomes in patients with MPM to provide data for use in the treatment selection process for elderly patients with potentially resectable disease. Patients and Methods Overall survival (OS) of patients younger than 70 and 70 years or older with Stage I to III MPM who underwent cancer-directed surgery or nonoperative management in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2004-2010) was evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazard models and propensity score-matched analysis. Results Cancer-directed surgery was used in 284 of 879 (32%) patients who met inclusion criteria, and was associated with improved OS in multivariable analysis (hazard ratio, 0.71; P  = .001). Cancer-directed surgery was used much less commonly in patients 70 years and older compared with patients younger than 70 years (22% [109/497] vs. 46% [175/382]; P Conclusion Surgical treatment is associated with improved survival compared with nonoperative management for both patients younger than 70 years and patients aged 70 years or older.