On average, the life expectancy of peritoneal mesothelioma patients is 12 months. However, multiple studies have shown that patients who have cytoreduction with HIPEC experience significantly longer survival times. Many patients now survive up to 5 years and some even live beyond 7 years.
It was written by co-creator Mark Gatiss, who also portrays Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's brother in the series, and was directed by Paul McGuigan. The episode is a contemporary adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles, one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's most famous works.
On 2 July 2014, Sherlock was renewed for a fourth series. The three-episode series is scheduled to be filmed in early 2016, following a full-length Christmas 2015 special which went into production in January 2015.