Evaluation of Efficacy and Adverse Reactions of Pemetrexed Combined with Platinum-based Chemotherapy for Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Objective:To preliminarily evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of pemetrexed combined with platinum agents as a first-line treatment of advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data,and survival and adverse reactions among fourteen patients who received pemetrexed combined with platinum between February 2006 and February 2008 as an initial treatment for diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma at Cancer Center of Sun Yat-Sen University and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University.Results: The overall response rates of all these 14 patients was 35.7%(5/14) and the disease control rate was 71.0%(10/14).The median survival was estimated at 8 months(95% confidence interval,6.2 to 9.8 months) and the median time to progression was 5 months(95% confidence interval,3.2 to 6.8 months).Common adverse reactions included nausea,vomiting,fatigue,neutropenia,and so on.No chemotherapy related death was observed in both arms.Conclusion: The efficacy and toxicity of the regiments of pemetrexed combined with platinum in the first-line treatment of advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma were preliminarily confirmed,which may justify further research and widespread use.