Vinflunine Improves Response and Survival in Mesothelioma

Source: CancerPage.com

A study on the benefits of vinflunine for the treatment of mesothelioma was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on October 20. Vinflunine is a microtubule inhibitor that is being studied for its therapeutic effects on a number of different cancers. This particular study was looking at the effects of vinflunine as a first line therapy against malignant pleural mesothelioma and the initial results were positive.

The study sampled a population of 67 patients with pleural mesothelioma. Overall, patients showed a response rate of 13.8% and most maintained upon (60%) or improved (13.8%) their performance status. The median progression-free survival was 3.2 months and the median overall survival was 10.8 months. 1-year survival rate was 36.9%.

Because of the positive results exhibited during the study, the authors have concluded that vinflunine merits further research. They suggest vinflunine may be beneficial to patients with disease progression after Alimta/cisplatin treatment and feel combination therapy with cisplatin itself should also be studied.