Researchers who attended the recent 35th congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Milan, Italy agreed that both Raltitrexed (Tomudex) and Vitamin E may be useful in combating mesothelioma cancer.
Almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure, mesothelioma is a rare condition that often carries a very poor prognosis. Largely because current treatment options are unable to provide a cure, most diagnosed patients have a mesothelioma life expectancy ranging between four and 18 months.
Recent reports have concluded that Tomudex, in combination with the chemotherapy drug Cisplatin, greatly improves overall survival when comparing it to studies that only used Cisplatin. Tomudex is an injectable cytotoxic medication used to treat different forms of cancer.
The medication belongs to a group of cancer-fighting drugs called antineoplastics. Tomudex combats cancer by preventing cancer cell growth, which in time leads to their elimination. Tomudex is currently licensed for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma in Portugal, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Additional authorizations are expected for this drug in Europe by the end of the year.
Alpha tocepherol, the most prevalent form of vitamin E in the body, has been shown to be effective in treating breast cancer tumors and may be effective in inducing apoptosis (cell death) and suppressing cancer growth in malignant mesothelioma.
Both Italian and Australian researchers said that alpha-tocopheryl succinate, vitamin E, “efficiently kills malignant mesothelioma cells and sensitizes them to the immunologic inducer of apoptosis tumor necrosis factor.”
Additional information on mesothelioma may be found through the mesothelioma Center.