There is a new therapy in horizon for cancerous pleural mesothelioma. Researches from Research hospitals in Europe have successfully tested a new anticancer drug: Vinflunine. The research findings are highlighted in the latest issue of the leading cancer journal Journal of Clinical Oncology. In this article it shows that Vinflunine is very effective against pleural mesothelioma. Vinflunine been shown to improve response and survival rates in patients diagnosed with cancerous pleural mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a rare, deadly form of cancer that affects the inside lining of the chest cavity and is directly linked to asbestos exposure.

Vinflunine was recently tested in Phase II clinical trials at hospital research centers in England and France. Dr. Talbot, from the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, and medical colleagues at seven European hospital centers, assessed the response rates of 67 patients who had not received previous chemotherapy or radiotherapy to determine the effectiveness of first-line Vinflunine therapy.

Doctors concluded that Vinflunine, when administered approximately every 21 days in high doses, improved patients' response rates by 13.8 percent, and demonstrated such positive results that the drug treatment warrants further evaluation. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug for this condition, "Alimta," which, when used in combination with cisplatin, has helped patients extend their lives by several months, as per the FDA.

Posted by: Ashley

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