Phase II Study of Pemetrexed With and Without Folic Acid and Vitamin B₁₂ as Front-Line Therapy in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Abstract

Single-agent pemetrexed for MPM resulted in a moderate response rate (14.1%) and median overall survival of 10.7 months. Patients supplemented with folic acid and vitamin B12 tolerated treatment better (less toxicity and more cycles of treatment) and had a 5-month greater median overall survival than nonsupplemented patients. These results indicate that patients with MPM could benefit from single-agent pemetrexed treatment combined with vitamin supplementation.