Mesothelioma Diagnosis Staging and Prognosis

Question 1

Which staging system is most widely used for malignant pleural mesothelioma in the US?

Accepted Answer

IMIG/IASLC TNM staging system

Answer

The IMIG/IASLC TNM-based staging system is the standard for malignant pleural mesothelioma, incorporated into the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual.

Question 2

In the IMIG TNM staging system, Stage I mesothelioma is characterized by:

Accepted Answer

Tumor confined to the ipsilateral pleura without nodal involvement

Answer

Stage I (IA and IB) mesothelioma is limited to the ipsilateral pleura with no lymph node involvement or distant spread.

Question 3

Which factor is the single most important determinant of survival in mesothelioma?

Accepted Answer

Histological cell type (epithelioid vs. sarcomatoid)

Answer

Epithelioid cell type confers significantly better median survival than sarcomatoid or biphasic types, making histology the strongest prognostic variable.

Question 4

Median overall survival for malignant pleural mesothelioma treated with standard chemotherapy is approximately:

Accepted Answer

12–18 months

Answer

With first-line cisplatin/pemetrexed chemotherapy, median overall survival is approximately 12 to 18 months from diagnosis.

Question 5

The EORTC prognostic score for mesothelioma assigns worse prognosis to which patient profile?

Accepted Answer

Non-epithelioid histology, poor performance status, and high WBC

Answer

The EORTC score identifies poor-prognosis patients based on non-epithelioid histology, poor ECOG performance status, elevated WBC, and other factors.

Mesothelioma Diagnosis Practice Test

Mesothelioma Diagnosis Practice Test

Mesothelioma Diagnosis Staging and Prognosis