Objective: To observe the present situation, efficacy and safety of immunotherapy in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Methods: The data of 39 patients with MPM in two centers from 2016 to 2021 were collected and the efficacy and safety were evaluated. According to the application of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), these patients, whose median clinical follow-up amounting to 18.97 months, were divided into immunotherapy group (19 cases) and control group (20 cases). Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were used for the survival analysis. Results: The objective response rate (ORR) and the disease control rate (DCR) in the immunotherapy group is 21.05% and 79.0% respectively, compared with 10.0% and 55.0% in the control group; and the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The median overall survival (OS) in the immunotherapy group was significantly longer than that in the control group (14.53 months vs 7.07 months, P=0.015), but there was no significant difference in the median progression free survival (PFS) between two groups (4.80 months vs 2.03 months, P=0.062). Single factor survival analysis showed that the nature of pleural effusion, pathological subtype and the efficacy of immunotherapy were related to both PFS and OS of the patients with MPM (P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in immunotherapy group was 89.5% (17 out of 19 cases), and the most common adverse event was hematological toxicity (9 cases), followed by nausea and vomiting (7 cases), fatigue (6 cases) and skin damage (6 cases). Five patients had immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) related adverse reactions with grade 1-2. Conclusions: Patients with MPM have begun to receive immunotherapy in more than 2-line mainly combined chemotherapy in the real world, and the median treatment line is 2-line. Either combined with chemotherapy or anti-angiogenesis therapy, ICI inhibitors have significant efficacy, controllable adverse events and good clinical value.
Humans ; Mesothelioma, Malignant/drug therapy* ; Mesothelioma/drug therapy* ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Immunotherapy/adverse effects*

Malignant mesothelioma is a highly malignant disease that most often occurs in the pleural cavity, followed by the peritoneum and pericardium. Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) accounts for 10%-15% of all mesothelioma. The most important risk factor for MPM is exposure to asbestos. MPM has no specific clinical symptoms, imaging and histopathology are critical for the diagnosis. There are currently no generally accepted guidelines for curative treatment of MPM. The patient mainly presented with abdominal pain, abdominal distension and discomfort. Due to extensive omentum metastasis, no further surgical treatment was performed. Pemetrexed combined with cisplatin chemotherapy was given for 2 cycles, and the patient is still alive.
Humans ; Mesothelioma, Malignant/drug therapy* ; Mesothelioma/diagnosis* ; Pemetrexed/therapeutic use* ; Cisplatin/therapeutic use* ; Peritoneal Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Pleural Neoplasms ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy*

Patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) usually present with poor prognosis and short survival period, and there has been a lack of effective treatment options for a long time. Chemotherapy has limited improvement in the clinical outcome of advanced patients (the median survival is less than one year), and it is difficult to find suitable targets for targeted therapy. Recent in-depth research on immunotherapy has changed the treatment pattern of MPM. Especially, the dual immunotherapy regimen significantly improved the survival outcome of patients across subgroups and prolonged the survival time of MPM patients. Therefore, it has been approved for unresectable MPM as first-line treatment for patients. The exploration of other mono or combo immunotherapy regimens in the first and second-line settings of MPM is also underway. How to identify the best beneficial population of each regimen through predictive biomarkers is also a hot spot for researchers. This article will focus on the most up-to-date progress of MPM epidemiology, histological characteristics, pathogenesis, treatment patterns and the advances of immunotherapy in the disease.
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Combined Modality Therapy ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Mesothelioma/drug therapy* ; Mesothelioma, Malignant ; Pleural Neoplasms/drug therapy*

BACKGROUND: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly aggressive disease arising from pleural mesothelial cells. Advanced pleural mesothelioma has a poor prognosis, with a median survival of no more than 15 months. First line standard chemotherapy regimen recommended is Pemetrexed based chemotherapy regimen, with or without bevacizumab. There is no consensus on whether patients who have received first-line standard chemotherapy can benefit from pemetrexed maintenance chemotherapy. The study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of pemetrexed maintenance therapy (PMT) after treatment with a pemetrexed and platinum regimen for patients with MPM. METHODS: A total of 40 MPM patients were collected from Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 2013 to January 2018, eligible patients were unresectable MPM, without disease progression following 4 to 6 cycles of pemetrexed and platinum, including pemetrexed maintenance therapy group (22 cases) and observation group (18 cases). The last follow-up was conducted in January 2020. The primary endpoint were progression free survival (PFS), and the secondary end points were overall survival (OS), the efficacy, adverse reactions of PMT. RESULTS: The median PFS in the PMT arm was longer than that in the observation arm (8.5 mon vs 3 mon, P=0.008), but there was no significant difference in median OS (26.4 mon vs 15.7 mon, P=0.177). Objective response rate (ORR) of two group were 22.7% and 0%, respectively. The grade 3-4 toxicity in PMT group included grade 4 neutropenia in 1 patient (4.5%), grade 3 neutropenia in 1 patient (4.5%), grade 4 anemia in 1 patient (4.5%) and grade 3 nausea and anorexia in 1 patient (4.5%). CONCLUSIONS Pemetrexed maintenance therapy following initial pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy improve PFS in patients with MPM, and is well tolerated.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects* ; Cisplatin/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Mesothelioma/drug therapy* ; Mesothelioma, Malignant ; Neutropenia ; Pemetrexed/therapeutic use* ; Platinum/therapeutic use* ; Pleural Neoplasms/drug therapy*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the multimodality treatment with neoadjuvant intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for resectable clinical T1-3N0-1M0 malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of eleven patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy between March 2016 and June 2018 were reviewed. Patients received 25 Gy in 5 fractions to entire ipsilateral hemithorax with helical tomotherapy. RESULTS: All of patients were men with a median age of 56 years. Epithelioid subtype was found in 10 patients. All patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with pemetrexed-cisplatin regimen. Ten patients (90.9%) completed 25 Gy/5 fractions and one (9.0%) completed 20 Gy/4 fractions of radiotherapy. IMRT was well tolerated with only one acute grade 3 radiation pneumonitis. Surgery was performed 1 week (median, 8 days; range, 1 to 15 days) after completing IMRT. Extrapleural pneumonectomy was performed in 4 patients (36.3%), extended pleurectomy/decortication in 2 (18.2%) and pleurectomy/decortications in 5 (63.6%). There was no grade 3+ surgical complication except two deaths after EPP in 1 month. Based on operative findings and pathologic staging, adjuvant chemotherapy was delivered in 7 patients (63.6%), and 2 (18.2%) were decided to add adjuvant radiotherapy. After a median follow-up of 14.6 months (range, 2.8 to 30 months), there were 3 local recurrence (33.3%) and 1 distant metastasis (11.1%). CONCLUSION: Neoadjuvant entire pleural IMRT can be delivered with a favorable radiation complication. An optimal strategy has to be made in resectable MPM patients who would benefit from neoadjuvant radiation and surgery. Further studies are needed to look at long-term outcomes.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Mesothelioma ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pneumonectomy ; Radiation Pneumonitis ; Radiotherapy ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) defined that asbestos is a group 1 substance that causes lung cancer, mesothelioma (pleura and peritoneum), laryngeal cancer, and ovarian cancer in humans. Many studies on lung cancer, and mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure have been conducted, but there was no case report of ovarian cancer due to asbestos exposure in Korea. We describe a case of ovarian cancer caused by asbestos exposure in a worker who worked at an asbestos textile factory for 3 years and 7 months in the late 1970s. CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old woman visited the hospital because she had difficulty urinating. Ovarian cancer was suspected in radiologic examination, and exploratory laparotomy was performed. She was diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer. The patient did not undergo postoperative chemotherapy and recovered. She joined the asbestos factory in March 1976 and engaged in asbestos textile twisting and spinning for 1 year, 2 years and 7 months respectively. In addition, she lived near the asbestos factory for more than 20 years. There was no other specificity or family history. CONCLUSION: Considering the patient’s occupational and environmental history, it is estimated that she had been exposed to asbestos significantly, so we determined that ovarian cancer in the patient is highly correlated with the occupational exposure of asbestos and environmental exposure is a possible cause as well. Social devices are needed to prevent further exposure to asbestos. It is also necessary to recognize that ovarian cancer can occur in workers who have previously been exposed to asbestos, and the education and social compensation for those workers are needed.
Asbestos ; Compensation and Redress ; Drug Therapy ; Education ; Environmental Exposure ; Female ; Humans ; International Agencies ; Korea ; Laparotomy ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; Lung Neoplasms ; Mesothelioma ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; Occupational Exposure ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Textile Industry ; Textiles

Primary pericardial malignant mesothelioma (PPM) is a very rare malignancy, with an incidence of less than 0.002% and represents less than 5% of all mesotheliomas. The cause of pericardial mesothelioma is uncertain that differ from pleural mesothelioma which is associated with asbestos exposure. This malignancy is terribly aggressive and has very poor prognosis with less than six months of overall survival. We present a case of a 71-year-old woman who was diagnosed with cardiac tamponade caused by PPM and received chemotherapy with pemetrexed and cisplatin for six months. During two years she was alive without disease progression. To better understand the clinical, pathologic features and treatment outcome of this entity, we reviewed 23 cases described in the English literature from 2009, together with our case, provided a total of 24 cases. Based on this review, we suggest that PPM must be considered in patients who have unexplained massive pericardial effusion and recommend chemotherapy with pemetrexed and cisplatin for the better outcome of PPM.
Aged ; Asbestos ; Cardiac Tamponade ; Cisplatin* ; Disease Progression ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mesothelioma* ; Pemetrexed* ; Pericardial Effusion ; Prognosis ; Treatment Outcome

Malignant mesothelioma is a common, primary tumor that can invade pleura, and is associated with previous exposure to asbestos. However, it poses considerable difficulties regarding its diagnosis and treatment, and thus, accurate history taking with respect to exposure to asbestos, and radiologic and pathologic examinations are essential. In addition, the involvement of a multidisciplinary team is recommended in order to ensure prompt and appropriate management using a framework based on radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, and symptom palliation with end-of-life care. Because lymphocyte-dominant, exudative pleural effusion can occur in malignant mesothelioma, adenosine deaminase values may be elevated, which could be mistaken for tuberculous pleurisy, and lead to an incorrect diagnosis and suboptimal treatment. The authors describe a case of malignant mesothelioma initially misdiagnosed as tuberculous pleurisy. As evidenced by the described case, malignant mesothelioma should be considered during the differential diagnosis of patients with lymphocyte-dominant, exudative pleural effusion with a pleural lung lesion.
Adenosine Deaminase ; Asbestos ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Lung ; Mesothelioma* ; Pleura ; Pleural Effusion ; Radiotherapy ; Tuberculosis, Pleural*

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive, treatment-resistant, and generally fatal disease. A 68-year-old male who was diagnosed with MPM at another hospital came to our hospital with dyspnea. We advised him to take combination chemotherapy but he refused to take the treatment. That was because he had already received chemotherapy with supportive care at another hospital but his condition worsened. Thus, we recommended photodynamic therapy (PDT) to deal with the dyspnea and MPM. After PDT, the dyspnea improved and the patient then decided to take the combination chemotherapy. Our patient received chemotherapy using pemetrexed/cisplatin. Afterwards, he received a single PDT treatment and then later took chemotherapy using gemcitabine/cisplatin. The patient showed a survival time of 27 months, which is longer than median survival time in advanced MPM patients. Further research and clinical trials are needed to demonstrate any synergistic effect between the combination chemotherapy and PDT.
Aged ; Drug Therapy* ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Dyspnea ; Humans ; Male ; Mesothelioma* ; Photochemotherapy* ; Pleura

Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Calbindin 2 ; metabolism ; Cholecystitis ; pathology ; Cisplatin ; administration & dosage ; Cystitis ; pathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Glutamates ; administration & dosage ; Guanine ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Humans ; Inflammation ; pathology ; Keratins ; metabolism ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Mesothelioma ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Pemetrexed ; Peritoneal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Survival Rate ; Vimentin ; metabolism