Treatment of malignant mesothelioma at earlier stages has a better prognosis. Clinical behavior of the malignancy is affected by several factors including the continuous mesothelial surface of the pleural cavity which favors local metastasis via exfoliated cells, invasion to underlying tissue and other organs within the pleural cavity, and the extremely long latency period between asbestos exposure and development of the disease. The histological subtype and the patients age and health status also help predict prognosis. The epithelioid histology responds better to treatment and has a survival advantage over sarcomatoid histology.The effectiveness of radiotherapy compared to chemotherapy or surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma is not known. Surgery
Surgery, by itself, has proved disappointing. In one large series, the median survival with surgery (including extrapleural pneumonectomy) was only 11.7 months. However, research indicates varied success when used in combination with radiation and chemotherapy (Duke, 2008), or with one of the latter. A pleurectomy/decortication is the most common surgery, in which the lining of the chest is removed. Less common is an extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), in which the lung, lining of the inside of the chest, the hemi-diaphragm and the pericardium are removed. In localized pericardial mesothelioma, pericardectomy can be curative; when the tumor has metastasized, pericardectomy is a palliative care option. It is often not possible to remove the entire tumor. Radiation
For patients with localized disease, and who can tolerate a radical surgery, radiation can be given post-operatively as a consolidative treatment. The entire hemithorax is treated with radiation therapy, often given simultaneously with chemotherapy.
Prevention
It is recommended that women take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to reduce the likelihood of any type of neural tube defects before and during the first 28 days after conception. Treatment
A series of steps involved in reconstructive surgery of a frontal encephalocele. The same child is in all the images. Currently, the only effective treatment for encephaloceles is reparative surgery, generally performed during infancy. The extent to which it can be corrected depends on the location and size of the encephaloceles; however, large protrusions can be removed without causing major disability. Surgery repositions the bulging area back into the skull, removes the protrusions, and corrects the deformities, typically relieving pressure that can delay normal brain development. Occasionally, shunts are placed to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain.The goals of treatment include:

closure of open skin defects to prevent infection and desiccation of brain tissue
removal of nonfunctional extracranial cerebral tissue with water-tight closure of the dura
total craniofacial reconstruction with particular emphasis on avoiding the long-nose deformity (nasal elongation that results from depression of the cribiform plate and nasal placode). Without proper management, the long-nose deformity can be more obvious after repair. Recovery
Recovery is difficult to predict prior to surgery, and depends on the type of brain tissue involved and location of the encephaloceles. If surgery is successful, and developmental delays have not occurred, a patient can develop normally.