Phase II study of pemetrexed with and without folic acid and vitamin B12 as front-line therapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Purpose: This phase II clinical study evaluated the efficacy of pemetrexed for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

Patients And Methods: Patients with a histologically proven diagnosis of MPM, chemotherapy-naive measurable lesions, and adequate organ function received pemetrexed (500 mg/m2) intravenously over 10 minutes every 3 weeks. After a protocol change, most patients also received folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation to improve safety.

Response to topotecan of symptomatic brain metastases of small-cell lung cancer also after whole-brain irradiation. a multicentre phase II study.

The purpose of this multicentre phase II study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of topotecan in pretreated patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) who relapsed with symptomatic brain metastases. 30 patients with a median age of 62 years were entered into the study. 22 patients received the initially planned dose of 1.