New Chemotherapy Combination to be tested on Mesothelioma Patients

Scientists at New York's Columbia University Medical Center are in the process of recruiting patients for participation in a Phase II clinical trial to find out about the effectiveness of a new chemotherapy treatment. This new treatment method involves the blending of two drugs that have proven to be therapeutic in earlier efforts, on patients suffering from malignant pleural mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the lungs) or malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the abdominal organs).

During the course of this research, doctors and other clinical investigators will examine the efficacy of a drug combination therapy, using the chemotherapy drugs Oxaliplatin and gemcitabine in several patients as they are treated with doses of this mixture every two weeks for the next six months. These cancer researchers are testing the idea that the new treatment method will hamper tumor advancements.

Oxaliplatin, promoted by pharmaceutical firm Sanofi-Aventis by its trademarked name of Eloxatin, is a chemotherapy drug with a platinum base typically ordered as a component in a combination therapy routine for dealing with patients afflicted with colorectal cancer. Gemcitabine is sold by Eli Lilly and Company under its trademarked name of Gemzar and is used in the treatment of many types of cancer.

Patients who participate in the study must have been diagnosed with either malignant pleural mesothelioma or malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, or both. Also, patients must not have gone through more than one earlier chemotherapy treatment, in order to be eligible to receive the experimental treatment. Researchers will be measuring the effectiveness of the new therapy on reducing the death rates of these patients as well as how the treatment affects tumor response rates.

Mesothelioma is one of a category of malignant cancers, which can arise as an effect of inhalation of asbestos fibers. Cancers of this type strike the mesothelium, a protective lining around many of the body's organs. The most familiar form of the disease is pleural mesothelioma, which affects the tissue layer around the lungs. The two more rare forms of the disease are peritoneal, which affects the linings of organs such as the intestines, stomach and gall bladder; and pericardial, which affects the tissue layer around the heart muscle.

At present, there is no cure for mesothelioma. Most current treatment methods focus on decreasing the incidence of symptoms and prolonging the patient's survival as much as possible. In most cases, the symptoms of the disease are not readily evident until many years after the patient has been exposed to asbestos. Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma often include chest pain, coughing or other respiratory problems. With such common symptoms, the disease can often be misdiagnosed; often, the only way to confirm a patient has mesothelioma is by a tissue biopsy. The most common form of exposure occurs when workers deal with asbestos insulation, which was commonly used in the mid-twentieth century for fireproofing and insulation in buildings and ships.

Sources: TransWorldNews, Columbia University

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