AboutMesothelioma.Net

Three-Pronged Attack on Pleural Mesothelioma Under Study

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Surgeons are able to remove mesothelioma tumors completely in only about a third of patients. When complete removal isn’t possible, rounds of chemotherapy and then radiation may follow the surgery to control the cancer’s spread and improve patients’ odds of survival.

This three-pronged attack—surgery, chemotherapy, radiation—is known in medical circles as trimodality therapy. But even with this, the chances of malignant tumors coming back remain high and the odds for long-term survival low.

Researchers at the University Health Network in Toronto in collaboration with pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly and Company are studying the use of a cocktail of chemotherapy drugs — Pemetrexed in combination with Cisplatin — for patients with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma. Cisplatin slows or stops the growth of cancer cells in the body, while Pemetrexed blocks the action of a certain substance in the body that may help cancer cells multiply. Patients receive the drugs before surgery in hopes of giving surgeons a better chance of completely removing the cancer. They believe that some patients may benefit and potentially be cured by this approach.

The study began recruiting patients earlier this year and will continue through 2020. For more information, go to the Clinical Trials page at the U.S. Institutes of Health website. The address is below.


Information about clinical trials

Labels: National News

posted by Wade Rawlins at 9:36 AM
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