title: Malignant mesothelioma: new insights into a rare disease.
abstract: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive malignancy of the pleura associated with exposure to asbestos. Its incidence is anticipated to increase over the next 10years in both Europe and the developing nations. In advanced disease, chemotherapy is the cornerstone of treatment, especially platinum-containing regimens. Most efforts are directed toward improving standard first-line therapy or developing effective second-line therapy, which is still not yet standardized 10years after the first-line standard of care was established. This review focuses on the systemic management of MPM in patients who are not considered suitable for surgical approaches, and it discusses some questions that remain open such as the benefits of administering a maintenance treatment, whether it is better to give cisplatin or carboplatin as first-line therapy, the role of new drugs as second-line therapy, and the treatment of the elderly population. It also summarizes the results from clinical trials that have evaluated new treatments as first- or second-line therapy, which are based on the understanding of mesothelioma biology, such as antiangiogenic drugs, immunotherapies and growth factors agents.
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Department, Hospital de Mataró, Carretera de la Cirera, s/n, 08304 Mataró, Barcelona, Spain. jremon@csdm.cat
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Remon
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lianes
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Velasco
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Querol
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zanui
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*