Successful immunochemotherapy for patients with malignant mesothelioma: report of two cases

Malignant mesothelioma is a clinically aggressive tumor and has a poor prognosis; therefore, the selection of therapeutic strategies is important to improve the prognosis. Two patients with intraperitoneal malignant mesothelioma received combination therapy as follows: (1) case-oriented chemotherapy according to the results of a chemosensitivity test, and (2) adoptive immunotherapy using cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). The chemosensitivity test was assessed by an MTT colorimetric assay. CTL was generated by a mixed culture with autologous tumor cells, and activated by immobilized anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody and interleukin-2. The MTT assay indicated that cisplatin and adriamycin were sensitive drugs in both patients, and they thus received the case-oriented chemotherapy according to the MTT assay. The activated CTL exhibited a high cytotoxicity against autologous malignant mesothelioma cells, and were transferred intraperitoneally. The patients were controllable for ascites, and the tumor masses gradually vanished (partial response). Chemoimmunotherapy is thus considered to be an effective treatment for intraperitoneal malignant mesothelioma, especially to improve the quality of life.