A retrospective study of chemotherapy with and without pemetrexed in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

BACKGROUND The current standard first-line chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is pemetrexed and cisplatin. However, other regimens, with or without a platinum agent, are reported to be effective in the treatment of MPM. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients who were diagnosed with MPM and treated with chemotherapy between January 1999 and June 2010 at the Osaka Prefectural Medical Center for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases were studied, and the outcomes of these patients were retrospectively analyzed in relation to therapy. RESULTS In total, 48 patients with MPM (42 men and 6 women) treated with chemotherapy were included in the current analysis. The median survival time (MST) and one-year survival rate in the pemetrexed-containing group were 541 days and 63.2%, respectively. The MST and one-year survival rate in the non-pemetrexed group were 516 days and 66.7%, respectively. Overall survival did not differ significantly with respect to the pemetrexed-containing regimen. CONCLUSION The superiority of pemetrexed-containing regimens is equivocal. Non-pemetrexed-containing regimens may be potent alternatives.