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Implantation and Monitoring by PET/CT of an Orthotopic Model of Human Pleural Mesothelioma in Athymic Mice
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Management options for malignant pleural mesothelioma: clinical and cost considerations

Ranjit K Goudar1

  • 1Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27701, USA. gouda001@mc.duke.edu

Drugs
|May 25, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) treatment remains challenging. Recent advances like cisplatin plus pemetrexed show improved response rates, but novel targeted therapies offer future promise for better outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Pulmonology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an asbestos-related lung cancer with poor prognosis.
  • Current treatments like surgery and radiotherapy offer limited survival benefits.
  • Chemotherapy regimens historically had low response rates (<20%) before 2004.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current state of malignant pleural mesothelioma treatment.
  • To highlight recent advancements and future directions in MPM therapy.
  • To address the challenges in assessing treatment efficacy and cost-effectiveness.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent phase III trials and established treatment modalities.
  • Discussion of novel targeted therapies and molecular targets (e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor).
  • Analysis of the limitations of radiographic assessment for clinical endpoints.

Main Results:

  • Cisplatin plus pemetrexed demonstrated a 41.3% response rate in a recent phase III trial.
  • Novel multimodality regimens targeting molecular pathways show promise for improved outcomes.
  • The effectiveness of aggressive multimodal treatment on survival and quality of life requires further investigation.

Conclusions:

  • While chemotherapy combinations have improved, targeted therapies represent the most promising future direction for MPM treatment.
  • Ongoing clinical trials are crucial to define the role of various therapies and compare them against supportive care.
  • Future research must also evaluate the cost-effectiveness of MPM treatment regimens after efficacy is established.

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