Pemetrexed mesothelioma treatments seem to be the best chemotherapy option for victims of the asbestos-related cancer. Pemetrexed, also known as Alitma, was FDA approved for advanced phases of clinical trials in July of 2002 and has been studied by various institutions in the many years since. Of the many studies conducted to research the effectiveness of pemetrexed mesothelioma combination treatments, most found that the drug works best in combination with other chemotherapy drugs.
In 2008, a German study showed that when pemetrexed mesothelioma treatments were used in combination with cisplatin, an older chemotherapy drug, 59% of patients experienced no progression in their mesothelioma cancer for a period of up to 5 months. Other similar studies yielded similar results, always showing that the antifolate was best employed in combination with cisplatin. The University of Chicago conducted on of the studies and found that pemetrexed mesothelioma treatments provided a median survival time of 12.1 months, which is also similar to the German study.
As described in further detail on this page, pemetrexed and cisplatin combined to form the most effective chemotherapy drug combination possible for mesothelioma patients at the times of the studies. Prior to pemetrexed, cisplatin alone did less to extend the lives of patients undergoing mesothelioma treatments. One doctor noted that just a decade ago, mesothelioma seemed like a hopeless disease, with no foreseeable treatment or cure. With new treatments under clinical trials, however, the medical community has discovered that the effectiveness of chemotherapy is related to a combination of medications instead of one chemotherapy drug.
Most of the studies proved to yield similar results to those found in the table below, from the University of Chicago and similar studies.
| Pemetrexed Mesothelioma Study Results |
|---|
| Amount of time without progression of the disease |
| With Cisplatin Alone | 3.9 Months |
| With Cisplatin and Pemetrexed | 5.7 Months |
| Average Total Survival Time |
| With Cisplatin Alone | 9.3 Months |
| With Cisplatin and Pemetrexed | 12.1 Months |
| Percentage of Cases where Mesothelioma was Controlled |
| With Cisplatin Alone | 19% |
| With Cisplatin and Pemetrexed | 50% |
Pemetrexed Mesothelioma Study Results: University of Chicago
The University of Chicago published research results in 2003 of 456 patients who were part of a pemetrexed mesothelioma research trial to determine the effectiveness of various chemotherapy type treatments.
The study group consisted of people who were no able to receive surgery for their cancer and who had never received chemotherapy in the past.
226 of the patients were given pemetrexed mesothelioma drugs along with cisplatin. The patients in this group:
- Survived an average of 12.1 months
- Average time that the medication suppressed the cancer was 5.7 months
- 41.3% of the 226 patients responded to the combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed mesothelioma treatment
222 of the patients were given cisplatin only. The patients in this group:
- Survived an average of 9.3 months
- Average time that the medication suppressed the cancer was 3.9 months
- 16.7% of the 222 patients responded to the cisplatin treatment
The study concluded that cisplatin and pemetrexed mesothelioma treatment combination, along with vitamin supplements to reduce toxicity, resulted in longer survival times, greater effectiveness on a larger portion of the patients, and extended the amount of time before the cancer began to progress than treatments using cisplatin alone.
Pemetrexed Mesothelioma Study Results: University Hospital of South Manchester
The University Hospital in Manchester, United Kingdom also conducted a study on the effectiveness of pemetrexed mesothelioma treatments. This study, however, researched the efficacy rates of pemetrexed only (single-agent pemetrexed mesothelioma treatment) in pleural mesothelioma patients. The hospital has treated more than 3,000 mesothelioma patients using only pemetrexed or combination therapy including cisplatin.
The study identified 812 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients. 319 of them had never had any chemotherapy treatments and 493 of them had previously received a treatment. For those nearly 500 patients, the study provided at least a second line treatment (chemotherapy that occurs in order to increase the chance of extended survival.) A total of 643 of the 3,000 patient’s cases were evaluated to see how well the pemetrexed mesothelioma treatments worked as a stand-alone measure.
Of the patients who had never received chemotherapy in past:
- Survived an average of 14.1 months
- Average time that the medication suppressed the cancer was 6 months
- 10.5 % of the patients responded to the pemetrexed mesothelioma treatment
Of the patients who had received chemotherapy in past:
- Survival time was not estimated in this study, due to censoring.
- Average time that the medication suppressed the cancer was 4.9 months
- 12.1 % of the patients responded to the pemetrexed mesothelioma treatment
The study concluded that patients did respond to single-agent pemetrexed mesothelioma treatments.
Pemetrexed Mesothelioma Study Results: Istituto Clinico Humanitas
The Instituto Clinico Humanitas in Rozzano, Italy studied mesothelioma patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma that were not eligible for surgery who received cisplatin and pemetrexed mesothelioma combination treatments for their effectiveness on the cancer. All of the patients in this study were chemo-naïve, which means they had no previous chemotherapy treatments for the disease.
The study reviewed the pemetrexed mesothelioma treatments of 1704 patients, who were either pemetrexed and cisplatin or pemetrexed and carboplatin, another chemotherapy drug. 745 of the patient’s cases were evaluable by researchers in the cisplatin group and 752 in the carboplatin group.
Of the 745 patients that received cisplatin and pemetrexed mesothelioma treatment drugs:
- 63.1% survived at least one year
- Average time that the medication suppressed the cancer was 7 months
- 26.3 % of the patients responded to the cisplatin pemetrexed mesothelioma treatment
Of the 752 patients that received carboplatin and pemetrexed mesothelioma treatment drugs:
- 64% survived at least one year
- Average time that the medication suppressed the cancer was 6.9 months
- 21.7 % of the patients responded to the carboplatin and pemetrexed mesothelioma treatment
The study concluded that both combination therapies yielded similar results in people who have never been treated with chemotherapy in the past.
As with all pemetrexed mesothelioma treatment combination, there was a risk of toxicity and some studies reported lowered white-blood cell counts. This is usually controlled with vitamin supplements that are provided to the test groups and is effective in lowering the amount of toxic substances in the patient’s systems.
