In the face of malignant pleural mesothelioma, patients and physicians have a single goal: To extend survival while maintaining as high a quality of life as possible. Each patient’s treatment options rely on their overall health and how advanced their cancer is, but a recent study by French researchers has shown that for patients with unresectable tumors, a combination of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab as a first-line treatment delivers far better outcomes than chemotherapy.
Investigation of Immunotherapy Combination Yields Better Outcome in Mesothelioma
The mesothelioma study evaluated quality of life by the measure which may be most important of all – Patient Reported Outcomes. According to Professor Arnaud A. Scherpereel of the Pulmonary and Thoracic Oncology Department at the University of Lille in France, patients not only experienced fewer symptoms when treated with a combination of Nivolumab/Ipilimumab, but also indicated a better health-related quality of life as compared to what they experienced from chemotherapy as a first-line treatment.
Presenting his findings at the ESMO Immuno-Oncology Virtual Congress 2020 held in December of 2020, he reported that a phase III clinical trial also showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS). Treatment with the immunotherapy combination provided overall survival of 18.1 months compared to 14.1 months from the standard-of-care chemotherapy treatment.
Mesothelioma Patients’ Reported Outcomes Show Gradual Improvement with Immunotherapy
Mesothelioma patients were provided treatment with either the combination immunotherapy treatment every six weeks for up to two years or with platinum/pemetrexed chemotherapy every three weeks for six cycles. They were asked about symptoms and quality of life before each dose and at specified follow-up times. The researcher concluded that the first-line immunotherapy treatment delayed deterioration of health and provided patients with symptom improvement over time while their condition and symptoms deteriorated with chemotherapy.
If you have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and would like more information on state-of-the-art treatment, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
