Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Trial Results, from The Lancet -
A recent article published in The Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals (and a fan of our website!), once again demonstrates that there is as yet no really good treatment for Mesothelioma. The article focused on an analysis of a multicentre randomized trial to determine whether adding chemotherapy to active symptom control in the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma made any difference. It noted:
"Malignant pleural mesothelioma is almost always fatal, and few treatment options are available. Although active symptom control (ASC) has been recommended for the management of this disease, no consensus exists for the role of chemotherapy. We investigated whether the addition of chemotherapy to ASC improved survival and quality of life."
Regrettably, the authors concluded:
"We observed no between-group differences in four predefined quality-of-life subscales (physical functioning, pain, dyspnoea, and global health status) at any of the assessments in the first 6 months."
which means that "The addition of chemotherapy to ASC offers no significant benefits in terms of overall survival or quality of life."
It still seems that the best hope for mesothelioma patients and their families is renewed efforts to understand how this disease evolves and find new treatment methods. This further highlights the overwhelming importance of eliminating future asbestos exposure in an effort to prevent future cases of this as-yet-incurable disease.
Read the abstract on this trial of 409 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.
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