Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in malignant pleural mesothelioma: a possible guardian for long-term survival.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive malignancy of the pleura correlated with exposure to asbestos, with a medium survival of 11-12 months after diagnosis. A case of a 67-year-old male who had previously worked in the asbestos industry and is a current smoker is reported. The computed tomography evaluation revealed a right pleural mass with pleural thickening, and the pleural biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma. He was treated with chemotherapy consisting of etoposide, paclitaxel, and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride. After completion of chemotherapy, radiologic evaluation confirmed a reduction of pleural thickening and improvement in his symptoms. A complete presentation of each drug formulation and characteristics are also included in this paper. The patient's follow-up is continuing, and computed tomography reveals stable disease 9 years after initial examination.
Pulmonary Department-Oncology Unit, "G Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece ; Pulmonary Department-Interventional Unit, Ruhrland Klinik, University of Essen, Essen, Germany.
Paul
P
Zarogoulidis
Maria
M
Mavroudi
Konstantinos
K
Porpodis
Kalliopi
K
Domvri
Antonios
A
Sakkas
Nikolaos
N
Machairiotis
Aikaterini
A
Stylianaki
Anastasios
A
Tsiotsios
Nikolaos
N
Courcoutsakis
Konstantinos
K
Zarogoulidis