New Drug Combination May Improve Mesothelioma Treatment
A mesothelioma drug approved for use in several European countries has received the backing of the international scientific community. The drug called raltitrexed, whose brand name is Tomudex, was the subject of discussion at the 35th annual European Society for Medical Oncology congress in Milan, Italy. When combined with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, Tomudex appears to increase the survival rates of mesothelioma patients. That conclusion was backed by studies conducted in 2003 and 2005 by the Netherlands Cancer Institute, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, the Lung Cancer Group and the National Cancer Institute of Canada. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of an aggressive lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. It can take…