Molecular Predictors of Pemetrexed and Carboplatin Response in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) Patients

Pharmacogenetics of Pemetrexed and Carboplatin in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Patients

The aim of the present study is to investigate the molecular predictors of pemetrexed and carboplatin response in tumor samples of a series of MPM patients extracting the DNA and genotyping for the TSER polymorphism.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumor that usually has a poor prognosis. The combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed has recently become the standard of care in the first-line treatment of MPM. For patients who are unfit to receive a cisplatin-based chemotherapy, pemetrexed alone [7] or combined with carboplatin [8] has been proposed as an alternative treatment choice. The identification of molecular predictors of effective therapy is important for maximizing therapeutic efficacy and minimizing useless treatment in cancer patients.

Inclusion Criteria:

• MPM diagnosis
• Availability of tumor tissue to perform analysis

Exclusion Criteria :

• Other primary diagnosis
• No archival tissue available