Which chemotherapeutic agents are used for treating mesothelioma?
The chemotherapeutic drugs used in treating mesothelioma are often traditional cancer fighting agents. The classes include alkylating agents, antimetabolites, anthracyclines, and plant alkaloids. Agents in the first three classes damage DNA or RNA, thus preventing cancer cell reproduction. Alkaloids inhibit cell division by interfering with the proteins needed for mitosis. Some of these drugs disrupt cancer cell growth at one specific stage, and some can kill the cells at any stage of the cell cycle.
Specific drugs or combinations of drugs are chosen based on diagnosis of the cancer cell type and staging of the disease. Often, combinations are used in order to fight cancer cells at various stages of cancer cell growth.
One of the most recent advances in treating mesothelioma is the use of the antimetabolite pemetrexed in combination with cisplatin, an alkylating agent. Pemetrexed is the first agent approved by the FDA specifically for treating mesothelioma.