Though chemotherapy is considered the gold standard for treating malignant pleural mesothelioma, the aggressive form of cancer is notoriously resilient, and patients’ tumors invariably return. In an attempt to find an effective second-line treatment, researchers from the Netherlands Cancer Institute are combining a targeted immunotherapy drug with a drug that stops tumors from growing new blood vessels. The results, though considerably toxic, are being called promising.
Mesothelioma Researchers Combine Two Drugs to Delay Tumor Progression
The Dutch researchers set out to determine whether a combination of pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, and Lenvatinib, an antiangiogenic multikinase inhibitor, would effectively work together to delay the progression of mesothelioma tumors.
Study participants were all pleural mesothelioma patients whose disease had progressed after chemotherapy but who had not been administered immunotherapy. Of the 38 patients included in the primary endpoint and safety analyses, 33 were male and five were female. All were given 200 mg of intravenous pembrolizumab once every three weeks along with 20 mg of oral Lenvatinib once per day for up to two years or until their disease progressed, they developed unacceptable toxicity, or withdrew from the study.
Mesothelioma Study Shows Objective Response with Adverse Events
Though the study yielded results that the researchers considered promising, the anti-tumor activity came at a cost: while 58% of the mesothelioma patients in the study had an objective response, 26% experienced treatment-related adverse events, including one treatment-related death. Of these, the most common impact was hypertension, while others experienced anorexia and lymphopenia.
In assessing the study’s results, the researchers concluded that the protocol warranted further investigation for future mesothelioma treatment and that a high initial dose of Lenvatinib was optimal for anti-tumor activity. They also noted that a high standard of supportive care would need to be provided to manage the drug combination’s toxicity.
Every day, researchers and clinicians work towards improving outcomes for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. For information on accessing state-of-the-art treatment, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
