# SEER registry study: pleural mesothelioma patients with surgery lived a median 17 vs 9 months

- Published: 2026-11-13 22:24 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: malignant pleural mesothelioma, surgical resection, SEER database, overall survival, propensity score matching, inverse probability weighting, Kaplan-Meier, Cox proportional hazards, survival trends, retrospective cohort
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-230f6ffe1f0cc9f64d565521_seer_registry_study/

**A retrospective analysis of 6,008 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients found longer overall survival in those who had resection; the benefit was larger in women.**

![SEER registry study: pleural mesothelioma patients with surgery lived a median 17 vs 9 months](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/7f8ab31db89136a8.jpg)
*bioengineer.org*

Wang and colleagues reported in Discover Oncology that surgical resection was associated with longer overall survival in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). The analysis used the SEER database and covered 6,008 patients, 2,026 of whom underwent surgery. [1] Before this work, the role of resection in MPM management had remained unclear.

## Design and main survival results

Patients were classified into surgical and non-surgical groups. To adjust for confounders, the authors used propensity score matching and stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting. Survival was assessed with Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards models. [1]

Median overall survival was 17 months (95% CI 16–18) in the surgical group and 9 months (95% CI 8–9) in the non-surgical group. The hazard ratio was 0.6 (95% CI 0.57–0.64), P < 0.0001. [1]

The authors also analyzed patients eligible for surgery. In this subgroup, median survival was 17 months (95% CI 16–18) with surgery and 10 months (95% CI 8–12) without it. The hazard ratio was 0.66 (95% CI 0.57–0.76), P < 0.0001. [1]

## Differences by sex and trends over two decades

Female patients showed a larger survival advantage from surgery than male patients. [1]

To analyze trends, the authors divided patients into two cohorts by study period: 2000–2009 and 2010–2018. Over the two decades, survival outcomes improved, and the proportion of eligible patients undergoing surgery increased. According to the authors, the increase was smaller in women. [1]

The authors concluded that surgical resection provides a survival benefit in MPM, particularly for women, and that the efficacy of surgery has improved over the past two decades. They also noted that more efforts are needed to reduce surgical candidate attrition. [1]

The work is a retrospective registry analysis, so the results describe an association between surgery and survival.

## Sources

1. [Discover Oncology](https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-026-06129-z)
2. [bioengineer.org](https://bioengineer.org/surgical-resection-correlates-with-longer-survival-in-malignant-pleural-mesothelioma-cohort)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-230f6ffe1f0cc9f64d565521_seer_registry_study/