The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7261 p170
9 August 2003

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Journal of Clinical Oncology abstract (more)

Pleural mesothelioma hope

Patients with pleural mesothelioma survive longer and experience less pain and shortness of breath when treated with cisplatin and pemetrexed.

In a study of 456 patients, this combination caused tumours to shrink in 41 per cent of patients compared with 17 per cent of patients given cisplatin alone. Addition of folic acid and vitamin B₁₂ reduced toxicity associated with pemetrexed (Journal of Clinical Oncology 2003;21:2636).