An extrapleural pneumonectomy is a surgery for pleural mesothelioma<\/a> that may be used when the cancer has spread beyond lining of the lung and chest wall into the lung itself.<\/p>\n During an EPP, the surgeon removes the affected lung, the pleura (lung lining), and parts of the pericardium (heart lining) and diaphragm (the muscle just below the lungs and heart). The goal is to cut out as much of the cancerous tissue as possible to improve the patient\u2019s overall survival and life expectancy<\/a>.<\/p>\n An EPP is most effective when combined with radiation and chemotherapy. According to a 2022 article published in Translational Lung Cancer Research<\/em>, patients treated with an EPP, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy had a median survival of 26.8 months. Patients who had chemotherapy and surgery survived an average of 14.6 months.<\/p>\nKey Facts on EPP Surgery<\/h3>\n