Italian researchers are testing pemetrexed-based drugs as a second-line treatment option for mesothelioma relapse. Pemetrexed inhibits cellular formation of DNA and RNA, which cells need to survive and to grow. A study published in medical journal, Lung Cancer, covered study details.
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of lung lining and lining of other abdominal cavities. It is caused almost exclusively by asbestos fibers, which, once inhaled, can begin a mutation process leading to growth of irregular malignant tumors. Mesothelioma affects a rising fifteen to twenty thousand people worldwide; it is believed that thousands of additional cases go unreported, particularly in developing countries where asbestos use high and minimally regulated.
Mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period, between twenty and fifty years. When symptoms demonstrate they include coughing, wheezing and signs reflective of a respiratory infection. Mesothelioma treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and palliative care. There is no known cure for mesothelioma.
In the Italian study, researchers specifically found that pemetrexed drugs benefited mesothelioma patients as a second-line treatment when the same patient had benefited from same-type first-line treatments.
Thirty-one patients who had received pemetrexed-based drugs for mesothelioma at least once before where administered the same drug for relapse occurrences between 2004 and 2009. All of these patients were 3 months or more beyond their last treatments. Fifteen received pemetrexed-based drugs alone, while 16 were treated with a combination of pemetrexed-based and the current standard platinum-based drugs.
Forty-eight percent of patients tested showed shrunken tumors or tumors that had stopped growing. A 10.5 month average progression-free survival time also followed for the 48% of patients responding well to treatments. This additional survival time was consistent for patients who had experienced an average of 12 months progression-free survival time following first-line same-type treatments. Patients that did not experience as much as 12 months progression-free survival time after first-line treatments averaged only 2.5 months following second-line same-type treatments.
A Japanese study published in the International Journal of Clinical Oncology reported similar findings. Patients who responded well to pemetrexed-based drugs as a first-line treatment benefited from the same type second-line treatments.
Study authors concluded, however, that more research is necessary to better decide how to treat relapse in mesothelioma cases.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 18th, 2011 at 8:14 AM and is filed under General, Treatments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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