Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

The mesothelioma attorneys at Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason have witnessed thousands of clients going through various treatments for mesothelioma, a fatal form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) caused by exposure to asbestos.  A recent report in Lung Cancer ((2011) 74 ELUNGC 3 355-363) reveals how predictive biomarkers might be used in determining the best NSCLC candidates for successful use of adjuvant chemotherapy as part of an overall treatment plan. 

Chemotherapy is one of the miracles of modern medicine, able to decrease the painful symptoms of mesothelioma and slow the progression of the disease.  Chemotherapy is one of three standard treatments for mesothelioma, along with radiation therapy and surgery.  Adjuvant chemotherapy occurs after surgery has been performed to remove malignant tumors.  With mesothelioma, often surgery cannot remove all of the cancerous cells, so adjuvant chemotherapy is then used as a follow up to target and destroy any remaining malignancy. 

Scientists at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria wanted to see if individualized adjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy would extend survival times in patients who had completely resected NSCLC.  Their findings suggest that biomarkers might allow customizing adjuvant chemotherapy in mesothelioma patients, leading to improved treatment results and extended survival times. 

The study had mixed results using cisplatin-based chemotherapy, however gave recommendations as to who might be the best candidates for trial.  Patients diagnosed “with stage II and III disease, good performance status, adequate postoperative recovery, and absence of clinically relevant comorbidity,” as well as “selected patients with stage IB disease, e.g. those with larger tumors.” 

The hope is that customized chemotherapy following surgery may increase the survival and even cure rates of patients with completely resected early-stage NSCLC.  Further validation studies and standardization of laboratory tests assessing biomarkers must be completed to confirm the results of this clinical trial, but initial results look promising.