title: Clinical picture, response to therapy, and survival of women with diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The clinical picture, response to therapy, and prognosis of women with diffuse malignant peritoneal mesotheliomas (DMPM) are ill defined. The purpose of this study is to report on the clinical picture, response to therapy, and survival of women with DMPM.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study is a retrospective review of 15 women with the confirmed pathologic diagnosis of DMPM treated between 1964 and 1996. Survival curves were constructed according to the Kaplan-Meier method. The effect of different factors on survival was studied using the log-rank test. Two-tailed P values < 0.05 were considered significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical features included abdominal distension (11/15, 73%), abdominal pain (6/15, 40%), ascites (9/15, 60%), abdominal or pelvic masses (14/15, 93%), elevated CA-125 (4/4, 100%), thrombocytosis (4/ 15, 27%), and thrombo-embolic manifestations (3/15, 20%). The response rate to all first-line chemotherapy regimens was 30%. The response rate to paclitaxel/cisplatin was 66.7% and the toxicity was tolerable. The median survival of all patients was 12.5 months. Patients who underwent cytoreductive surgery survived longer than those who underwent biopsy only (median survival 13.5 vs. 6.0 months, P = 0.24). Patients who received chemotherapy survived significantly longer than those who did not receive chemotherapy (29.0 vs. 1.0 months, P = 0.03). Patients who responded to first-line chemotherapy survived significantly longer than those who did not respond (P = 0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cytoreductive surgery and chemotherapy, especially with paclitaxel and cisplatin, might be of benefit in women with DMPM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA. gamal.eltabbakh@vtmednet.org
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Eltabbakh
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Piver
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Hempling
authors.forename: F O
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Recio
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Intengen
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001201:Ascites / Q000209:etiology; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis