This clinical trial was performed in Zurich Switzerland and was designed to help pleural mesothelioma patients. It was published in 2007 and covered a multimodality treatment consisting of chemotherapy, surgery (extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP)), and radiation therapy.

The chemotherapy used was cisplatin and gemcitabine. These two drugs were often tested in mesothelioma patients before Alimya and Cisplatin became more widely accepted as the standard of care.  Three cycles of the chemo was administered to 58 of the 61 mesothelioma patients.

Forty-five patients had the extrapleural pneumonectomy surgery and 36 patients were given radiation therapy. For the 45 patients who had the surgery, the median survival was 23 months.

The clinical trial also measured the degree of psychological distress experienced by the patients. According to the researchers, their approach “was not associated with an increase in psychological distress.”

Treatment Details
Patients: This study enrolled 61 patients (57 men and 4 women) with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The median age was 59 years, ranging from 44-72.

Treatment: Fifty-eight patients completed three cycles of chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine. 45 of these patients had surgery (extrapleural pneumonectomy) and radiation after finishing the chemotherapy.

Toxicity: Grade 3 and 4 toxicities included: nausea and vomiting, myalgia, dyspnea, leucopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Major postoperative complications occurred in 16 (35%) of the patients undergoing EPP. Mortality was 2.2%

Results: The median overall survival was 19.8 months for the 61 patients. For the 45 that also underwent surgery, the median overall survival was 23 months.

Correspondence: Dr. R.A. Stahel

Survival:23.0 months
Toxicity Grade:5
Treatments:Chemotherapy
Surgery
Drugs:Gemzar
Platinol
Country:Switzerland
City/State/Province:Zurich
Hospital:University Hospital Zurich
Journal:Source Link
Date:4/2007

See all conventional treatment results for mesothelioma.