New Lung Cancer Trial Targets Mesothelioma
The Mesothelioma Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center are recruiting patients with pleural mesothelioma for a new clinical trial involving targeted radiation therapy.
According to a Washington Post article, any mesothelioma patients aged 18 and older who have not had recent radiation therapy and have not received prior chemotherapy treatment with the drug Alimta will be considered for the study.
“Current surgical and chemotherapy treatments of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma are unsatisfactory and have not been shown to significantly prolong survival. In this study, we will investigate whether a combination of chemotherapy and radiation targeted directly at the lung’s lining can improve outcomes while avoiding surgery,” stated principal investigator Dr. Robert Taub.
“The trial is also significant, because our center is the only one nationwide that is offering this experimental therapy to treat pleural mesothelioma,” he added.
It is hoped that the procedure will kill cancer cells on the surface of the lung but spare other healthy parts of the body around the affected area, the article points out.
“Patients enrolled in the study will receive several rounds of targeted chemotherapy using the drugs cisplatin and doxorubicin via surgically implanted catheters. Some patients will be randomly selected to receive additional systemic (intravenous) chemotherapy using the drugs cisplatin and pemetrexed,” states the article. Patients may also elect to have lung surgery as well.
