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Journal Articles on Mesothelioma: Cancer Information for Patients and Families

Journal Articles on Mesothelioma: 'Gemcitabine (Gemzar)' Category


Gemcitabine (Gemzar) news feed.

July 22nd, 2008. Pemetrexed plus gemcitabine as first-line chemotherapy for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma: final report of a phase II trial

Conclusion: The combination of pemetrexed plus gemcitabine was active in patients with MPeM with a notably high incidence of neutropenia. Median TTPD and OS seem promising. This regimen may provide an alternative to standard therapies, especially for patients who cannot tolerate a platinum-based regimen.

June 24th, 2008. Schedule-Dependent Synergistic Effect of Pemetrexed Combined with Gemcitabine against Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cell Lines

Conclusion: Sequential administration of MTA and GEM is active, and the schedule of MTA followed by GEM is recommended for treating MPM.

June 5th, 2008. Response of a Patient with Pleural and Peritoneal Mesothelioma after Second-Line Chemotherapy with Lipoplatin and Gemcitabine

Treatment with lipoplatin-gemcitabine was decided on in November 2006, and the patient showed important improvement in the clinical status and peritoneal effusion. He survived for 36 weeks, with symptom-free survival of 34 weeks.

May 31st, 2008. mTOR Mediates Survival Signals in Malignant Mesothelioma Grown as Tumor Fragment Spheroids

We propose that mTOR mediates survival signals in many mesothelioma tumors. Inhibition of mTOR may provide a non-toxic adjunct to therapy directed against malignant mesothelioma, especially in those with high baseline expression of p-S6K.

April 3rd, 2008. The role of muscle flap in preventing bronchus stump insufficiency after pneumonectomy for malignant pleural mesothelioma in high-risk patients

There was no early or late stump insufficiency during the 15-month follow-up. Surgical techniques using muscle flap seems to play a major role in the prevention of bronchus stump insufficiency especially after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy.

March 29th, 2008. Cytotoxic activities of nucleoside and nucleobase analog drugs in malignant mesothelioma: Characterization of a novel nucleobase transport activity

A novel combination of gemcitabine and fludarabine or cladribine had synergistic cytotoxic activity against the least sensitive mesothelioma cell line. These drug combinations merit further evaluation as effective therapeutic regimens in patients with aggressive mesothelioma.

March 20th, 2008. Phase II Trial of Pemetrexed and Gemcitabine in Chemotherapy-Naïve Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Conclusion: The combination of pemetrexed and gemcitabine resulted in moderate clinical activity in MPM. However, the median survival times are similar to those with single-agent pemetrexed and inferior to outcomes observed with cisplatin in combination with an antifolate.

February 21st, 2008. Gemcitabine and vinorelbine in pemetrexed-pretreated patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma

Conclusions: The gemcitabine and vinorelbine combination was moderately active and had an acceptable toxicity profile in pemetrexed-pretreated patients with MPM. The role of second-line treatment in MPM needs to be evaluated in prospective trials in large series of patients who are stratified according to previous treatment and prognostic factors.

January 29th, 2008. Imatinib mesylate enhances therapeutic effects of gemcitabine in human malignant mesothelioma xenografts

Conclusions: Imatinib mesylate enhances the therapeutic response to gemcitabine, in accordance with our previous in vitro data. These in vivo results validate imatinib mesylate and gemcitabine as a combination treatment of malignant mesothelioma, also in view of its known positive effects on tumor drug uptake. These evidences provide the rationale for the currently ongoing clinical trials.

January 29th, 2008. A phase 2 study of gemcitabine and epirubicin for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma: a North Central Cancer Treatment Study, N0021

Conclusions: In the current study, the combination regimen of gemcitabine and epirubicin was found to demonstrate minimal antitumor activity against pleural mesothelioma.

November 17th, 2007. Gemcitabine and cisplatin in unresectable malignant mesothelioma of the pleura: A phase II study of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG 9810)

Conclusions: Cisplatin–gemcitabine combination chemotherapy has modest activity with an acceptable toxicity profile, as first line treatment for patients with malignant mesothelioma.

October 3rd, 2007. Phase I and Pharmacokinetic Study of Imatinib Mesylate (Gleevec) and Gemcitabine in Patients with Refractory Solid Tumors

Conclusion: The addition of intermittently dosed IM to GEM at low to full dose was associated with broad antitumor activity and little increase in toxicity.

May 15th, 2007. Intracavitary mass as the initial manifestation of primary pericardial mesothelioma: a case report

Significant amounts of pleural fluid and huge tumors within both pleural cavities emerged. The patient died due to respiratory and circulatory insufficiency 11 months following the diagnosis.

April 13th, 2007. Multicenter trial of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy followed by extrapleural pneumonectomy in malignant pleural mesothelioma

Conclusions: The observed rate of operability is promising. A median survival of 23 months for patients undergoing EPP compares favourably with the survival reported from single center studies of upfront surgery. This approach was not associated with an increase in psychological distress.

April 6th, 2007. Induction chemotherapy, extrapleural pneumonectomy, and postoperative high-dose radiotherapy for locally advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma: a phase II trial

Conclusion: Induction chemotherapy with gemcitabine and cisplatin followed by EPP and adjuvant RT for locally advanced MPM is feasible and leads to a better median overall survival than that previously reported with EPP and RT alone.

April 6th, 2007. Four-Modality Therapy in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: A Phase II Study

Conclusion: The four-modality treatment that we adopted for advanced-stage MPM was feasible, well tolerated by most of the patients, and produced a favorable median survival. This treatment approach warrants further investigation.

April 4th, 2007. Induction chemotherapy, extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and adjuvant hemi-thoracic radiation in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM): Feasibility and results

Conclusions: In MPM, the combined modality approach using the Carboplatin/Gemcitabine combination as induction chemotherapy is feasible, with good results in terms of survival and morbidity. Our results are similar to those of other studies using a heavier modality treatment.

February 22nd, 2007. Preliminary Data Suggestive Of A Novel Translational Approach To Mesothelioma Therapy: Imatinib Mesylate With Gemcitabine Or Pemetrexed

Among chemotherapeutics tested in combination, Imatinib synergizes with Gemcitabine and Pemetrexed. We provide a rationale for a novel translational approach to mesothelioma therapy, relying on enhancement of tumor chemosensitivity, via inhibition of Akt.

December 26th, 2006. A phase II study of intrapleural immuno-chemotherapy, pleurectomy/decortication, radiotherapy, systemic chemotherapy and long-term sub-cutaneous IL-2 in stage II-III malignant pleural mesothelioma

Conclusions: The multimodality treatment we adopted for stage II-III MPM was feasible, well tolerated by most of the patients and produced a favourable outcome. New targeted therapies are awaited for further improvements in the treatment of this disease.

December 19th, 2006. A retrospective analysis of malignant pleural mesothelioma patients treated either with chemotherapy or best supportive care between 1990 and 2005; A single institution experience

We observed that stages 3 and 4 patients with epithelial cell type got benefit from CT. Especially, of epithelial cell type stages 1 and 2 should receive multimodal treatment.