Chemo drugs may help treat mesothelioma

LIVERPOOL, England, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- People with mesothelioma -- a form of cancer associated with asbestos exposure -- have a higher survival rate when given chemotherapy, says a U.S. study.

Patients receiving pemetrexed and cisplatin -- along with the vitamin supplements folic acid and B12 -- survived nearly three months longer than patients getting cisplatin alone, according to Dr. John Green at the Clatterbridge Center for Oncology in England.

"Pemetrexed used in combination with cisplatin significantly increases the length of survival, when compared with cisplatin alone," the researchers say. "Further research is needed into the optimum treatment regimen for pleural mesothelioma."

The researchers examined data from a clinical trial of 20 treatment centers in Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia. Eighty-one percent of the patients were men, with an average age of 61. Patients who received the combination treatment survived an average 2.8 months longer.

The review appears in The Cochrane Library.