Adjuvant therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma

Patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma appear to have gained little benefit from even the most intensive multimodality therapy. Although the reported median survival of patients who undergo some surgical procedure as part of their therapy appears to be superior to that of those patients treated in a nonoperative fashion, the lack of a randomized trial renders these data suspect. New approaches, perhaps consisting of biologic response modifiers, more effective chemotherapy, and innovative methods that achieve improved local disease control, are needed.