New Triple-Drug Approach May Advance Mesothelioma Treatment

Based in Manhattan in the City of New York but representing clients nationwide, the asbestos lawyers at The Williams Law Firm, P.C. are intrigued by new research into long-term “meso” care that suggests adding the drug bevacizumab, which carries the brand name Avastin, to a patient’s daily-care regimen may significantly lengthen his or her life.

Mesothelioma, or the cancer caused by asbestos exposure, remains incurable. Although, survival rates vary some based on the type of mesothelioma.

Here are two things we currently know about survival after a mesothelioma diagnosis:

• THE 5-YEAR SURVIVAL RATE, OR THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE EXPECTED TO LIVE AT LEAST 5 YEARS, AFTER A MESOTHELIOMA DIAGNOSIS IS BETWEEN 5 AND 10 PERCENT, ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE.
• ON AVERAGE, SOMEONE WITH STAGE 1 MESO WILL LIVE 21 MONTHS WHILE SOMEONE WITH STAGE IV MESO WILL LIVE ABOUT A YEAR, ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY.

Currently, the standard of care (SOC) for mesothelioma patients involves daily doses of the chemotherapy drugs pemetrexed, or Alimta, and cisplatin. That has been the meso standard of care for about a decade.

This new research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2015 Annual Meeting indicates that a new, triple-drug treatment will significantly shift the mesothelioma treatment paradigm.

But triple-drug therapy for meso, which is now headed for clinical trials, “is expensive and will cause financial toxicity,” Dr. Natasha Leighl of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto said in an article for Medscape.

Figuring out how to approach treatment and how to pay for that medical care are just two of the issues that the meso lawyers at The Williams Law Firm, P.C. work with clients to solve. Contact our Manhattan NY-based asbestos law firm online or by calling 855-575-MESO (6376) to book your mesothelioma case consultation.