Cisplatin (Platinol ®)
Polaris Group recently announced an application for a rolling submission of a new mesothelioma treatment. The Biologic License Application is the first step in becoming approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The treatment, known as ADI-PEG 20, is for the use on non-epithelioid mesothelioma patients alongside pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy. The non-epithelioid subtypes of…
Results from a phase 3 clinical trial were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showing that a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy for mesothelioma improves patients’ survival more than chemotherapy alone. Researchers combined Keytruda, or pembrolizumab, with platinum and pemetrexed chemotherapy. The overall response rate for patients receiving chemotherapy and Keytruda was 63…
Extended pleurectomy decortication surgery combined with chemotherapy is associated with worse outcomes compared to just chemotherapy alone. Researchers looked at extended pleurectomy and decortication surgery alongside chemotherapy and found that there are worse survival outcomes, a higher chance of serious adverse events, and a diminished quality of life compared to just giving patients platinum and…
The mix of chemotherapy and pembrolizumab extended survival in patients with pleural mesothelioma. It was given as a first line treatment to adults with the cancer. Data shows that pembrolizumab and chemotherapy reduced death by 21 percent compared to chemotherapy alone. Doctors like the combination of pembrolizumab and chemotherapy because it is already used effectively…
Researchers from China tried to determine whether immunotherapy or chemotherapy is better as a second line treatment option for relapsed pleural mesothelioma. There is no current standard therapy for people whose mesothelioma comes back, which makes it hard for doctors to make treatment decisions for patients. Mesothelioma is very aggressive, and no treatments are available…
Improvements have been made for cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC). This treatment combination is typically performed on people with cancers in the abdominal region. One such cancer is peritoneal mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the abdomen caused by asbestos exposure. Peritoneal mesothelioma is second to pleural mesothelioma in…
Keytruda is showing promising results for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. Researchers found that the combination of Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and chemotherapy lead to a better survival in patients versus chemotherapy alone. Mesothelioma is a hard-to-treat cancer with no cure. It can be found in the linings of the lungs, abdomen, heart, and testicles. The aggressive…
A specific type of radiation could be useful for the treatment of mesothelioma. Carbon-ion beam irradiation along with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin could potentially stop the growth of pleural mesothelioma tumors. Research was conducted at a carbon ion center in Chiba, Japan and results have been published to the American Journal of Cancer Research. Carbon…
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer with a poor life expectancy. People diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma usually live for four to 18 months after diagnosis. The poor survival is a result of the aggressive nature of the cancer and that it is usually diagnosed at a late stage when it is less treatable. Once mesothelioma progresses,…
A new immunotherapy treatment is showing promising results against mesothelioma. The therapy consists of a combination of two drugs: one drug that reprograms macrophages and the other is the chemotherapy cisplatin. Mesothelioma is a cancer that does not respond well to treatment. The best option for patients is a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation,…
