Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center are enrolling participants in a Phase II clinical trial to determine the efficacy of an experimental chemotherapy regimen, combing two chemotherapeutic drugs, on patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma or malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.
In this study, researchers will compare the anti-tumor activity of a combination therapy, using Oxaliplatin and gemcitabine in 29 individuals, treated at 14-day intervals over a period of six months. The study’s principal investigator is Columbia University oncologist and mesothelioma researcher Dr. Robert Taub.
Oxaliplatin, marketed by Sanofi-Aventis under the trade name Eloxatin, is a platinum-based chemotherapy drug commonly prescribed as part of a combination therapy for treatment of patients with colorectal cancer. Gemcitabine is distributed by Eli Lilly and Company under the name Gemzar, and is used in the treatment of many cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, which often occurs in patients with mesothelioma.
Study participants must have either malignant pleural mesothelioma or malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, or both, and not have undergone more than one prior chemotherapy regimen, in order to be considered for the study. In addition to tumor response rates, researchers will also be evaluating the effect of the therapy on survival rates of these patients.
Mesothelioma comprises a family of cancers which develop as a result of exposure to asbestos. These cancers affect the mesothelium, a protective covering that surrounds most of the body’s organs. The most common type of mesothelioma is pleural mesothelioma, which forms in the membrane surrounding the lungs. The two less common forms, peritoneal and pericardial, affect the abdominal cavity and the membrane surrounding the heart, respectively.
Symptoms of mesothelioma may not become apparent until decades following asbestos exposure, and may include coughing, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Many of the symptoms mesothelioma causes may be initially misdiagnosed as flu or other respiratory illness. Diagnosis is most often made through X-ray or CT scan, and confirmed with a tissue biopsy.
Mesothelioma is incurable, and mesothelioma treatment currently focuses primarily on lessening of symptoms and prolonging survival.
Individuals who worked in the manufacturing, shipbuilding, automobile, and construction industries are at special risk for asbestos exposure, especially those who worked in these areas prior to the mid-1980s. In addition, those who live or work with these individuals may also have risked exposure, as tiny fibers of asbestos were easily transported on clothing and other materials.
Although manufacture of asbestos products has been banned in the United States, exposure still occurs regularly as a result of the natural degradation of materials containing asbestos. Most homes and buildings constructed prior to the mid-1980s contain some asbestos-based materials, and even common renovation tasks can put individuals at risk for exposure.
For more information about mesothelioma cancer, please visit the Mesothelioma and Asbestos Awareness Center at www.maacenter.org.
