Eligible mesothelioma patients are currently able to enroll in Phase II of a clinical trial at Columbia University to test the effectiveness of a combination of chemotherapy medications in treating malignant peritoneal or pleural mesothelioma.
The study will test a course of treatment combining the drugs oxaliplatin and gemcitabine in effort to treat tumors in patients with malignant pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma who have not completed more than one course of chemotherapy.
mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive form of cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure. Patients often receive a poor prognosis following diagnosis since it may take 20 to 50 years for a patient to demonstrate symptoms of mesothelioma. This allows the cancer to enter later stages of development, often making treatment very difficult.
Studies of oxaliplatin and gemcitabine have given researchers and patients hope that combing the two medications when treating mesothelioma patients may result in the successful control of the progression of the cancer. Researchers from the Respiratory Disease Clinic Heckeshorn in Berlin noted that the use of the medications every 21 days demonstrated an increased rate of controlling mesothelioma progression.
The clinical trial will last six months and include 29 patients. Participants must be at least 18 years old, have malignant pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma and received no surgical treatment for the condition and have a life expectancy of more than three months.
Patients in the study will receive the two chemotherapy medications through separate IVs, six times. After the six weeks of treatment, if patients respond favorably, researchers may elect to continue treatment. If participants demonstrate undesirable reactions, treatment may be suspended. Upon completion of Phase II of the clinical trial, Phase III will begin in 2010 or 2011.
Oxaliplatin is a chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat colon cancer. Gemcitabine is also used in chemotherapy (typically for the treatment of lung, ovarian, breast and pancreatic cancers) and targets rapidly dividing cancerous cells, inhibiting production.
Chemotherapy is a treatment commonly used to kill cancerous cells. Typically a combination of medications is administered to a cancer patient intravenously (through an IV) and the drugs kill cells that are rapidly dividing to prevent additional division of cancerous cells. Chemotherapy medications also affect non-cancerous cells, such as those involved in hair growth and the immune system. This can cause patients to experience side effects of the treatment such as hair loss and nausea.
Clinical trials are conducted to test up-and-coming treatment options and all medications must go through a clinical trial before they are approved for use by the general population. Mesothelioma patients interested in participating in the clinical trial at Columbia University may visit ClinicalTrials.gov for details.
Additional information about mesothelioma and clinical trials may be found through the mesothelioma Cancer Center.