What will chemotherapy be like? How often will I be treated, and how many times?

The exact chemotherapy you will receive depends on the specifics of your case, and your oncologist will be able to tell you with more certainty.

The best regimen for mesothelioma at the current time seems to be treatment with two agents, one called Alimta (the trade name for pemetrexed), the other called cisplatin or a related medication called carboplatin.

This particularly treatment is on a 21 day cycle, meaning you get your medication on day one, and not again until 21 days later. Alimta interrupts the usage of B vitamins by cancer cells. Patients are given supplements of folic acid and B12 during this treatment to protect the normal cells. Both agents are given by intravenous infusion (into a vein) separately on day one. Patients are usually given medicine to prevent vomiting and fluids to prevent dehydration during treatment.

There was a large study showing that in patients who had already been through other chemotherapy, treatment with Alimta plus either cisplatin or carboplatin increased survival rates significantly. One year survival rates for these patients were greater than 60%.

There are many other agents being studied and used for mesothelioma. Other agents may be instilled into the abdominal cavity after surgery for peritoneal mesothelioma.

Your treatment might be in the hospital, as an outpatient or inpatient, or in your doctor’s office.

A common regimen for chemotherapy could involve 2 or 3, or even up to 6 cycles of treatment, with an evaluation performed at the end. The doctors would then try and see if there is evidence that your mesothelioma has gotten smaller, and that your symptoms are improving. At every point, the improvements in your cancer have to be weighed against the side effects you might be having from the treatment.

There are other chemotherapeutic agents being evaluated for use in treating mesothelioma.

Cisplatin
Carboplatin
Onconase
Gemcitabine
Navelbine