Background: Mesothelioma is a rare tumor strongly associated with exposure to carcinogens, particularly asbestos. The study aimed to detect the epidemiological features of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma treated in Ain Shams university hospital and different treatment outcomes
Aim of work: To analyze retrospectively epidemiological and clinical outcomes of malignant pleural mesothelioma patients treated in Ain Shams University Hospitals (ASU) in Cairo, Egypt, from 2017 to 2020.
Patients and methods: convenient sampling of 120 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The primary objective was to analyze the epidemiological and demographic data while secondary objectives included calculating overall survival as well as correlation between different clinic-pathological factors and outcome.
Results: 120 participants were included, with a median age of 56.5, male to female ratio of 1:1.14. Incidence was highest in industrial areas Shobra Al Khaimah and Helwan as compared to other areas, 35.8%, 15% and 49.2% respectively. Epithelioid subtype represents 86.6% of the patients, while 6.6% of the patients are biphasic subtype and only 2.5% sarcomatoid subtype.
The most common presenting symptom was dyspnea, followed by chest pain. Only 6.7% of the patients were candidates for surgery whether after chemotherapy or upfront, while 77.5% of the patients were candidates for first line chemotherapy and only 15.8% received radiotherapy, all with palliative intent.
Conclusion: Mesothelioma in Egypt is mainly concentrated in areas of high environmental pollution. We aimed to provide retrospective data of epidemiological, clinic-pathological and outcomes of adult MPM patients. Better environmental control programme would benefit Egypt.