Alimta Drug of Choice for Mesothelioma

August 4, 2006 - The most recent issue of Journal of Thoracic Oncology has proclaimed that “treatment with the chemotherapy agent Alimta® (pemetrexed) with or without the chemotherapy agent Platinol® (cisplatin) provides benefit for patients with malignant mesothelioma who have received prior therapies.”

Reports of a study conducted by researchers affiliated with drug company Eli Lilly were outlined in the journal.  These include facts from a Phase III trial that involved 187 patients suffering from recurrent malignant mesothelioma.  According to the article, recurrent mesothelioma refers to cancer that has progressed or returned following prior therapies.

The patients were treated with either Alimta or Alimta/cisplatin and were directly compared.  The results were as follows:

• Anticancer responses were achieved in 32.5% of patients treated with Alimta/cisplatin compared with 5.5% for patients treated with Alimta alone.
• Anticancer responses plus disease stabilization (disease control rate) was achieved in nearly 69% of patients treated with Alimta/cisplatin, and 47% for those treated with Alimta alone.
• Half of the patients were alive at 7.6 months among those treated with Alimta/cisplatin, compared with 4.1 months for those treated with Alimta alone.
• Serious side effects were generally rare, with dehydration and nausea being the most common.

The study concluded that a combination of Alimta/cisplatin appeared to provide greater activity than Alimta alone; however, both treatment options may be considered to treat this disease, which is caused by asbestos exposure and usually not diagnosed until its later stages, making treatment quite challenging.