{"entity":{"id":"paper-vogelzang-pemetrexed-mesothelioma-jco-2003","kind":"paper","name":"Phase 3 trial of pemetrexed plus cisplatin versus cisplatin alone in malignant pleural mesothelioma","aka":[],"tldr":"Adding pemetrexed to cisplatin lengthened survival by almost three months in pleural mesothelioma, making platinum-pemetrexed the first, and for many years the only, standard chemotherapy for the disease.","summary":"Phase 3 trial of 456 chemotherapy-naive patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma randomised to pemetrexed plus cisplatin or cisplatin alone, with folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation introduced part-way through to reduce toxicity.\n\nMedian overall survival was 12.1 versus 9.3 months, response rate 41.3 versus 16.7 percent, and lung function and symptoms were better with the combination; vitamin supplementation markedly reduced severe toxicity.","asOf":"2026-09-17","links":[{"label":"J Clin Oncol 2003","url":"https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2003.11.136"},{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12860938/"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["pleural-mesothelioma","peritoneal-mesothelioma"],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":["cisplatin","pemetrexed"],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":["jco"],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"journal":"Journal of Clinical Oncology","year":2003,"doi":"10.1200/JCO.2003.11.136","pmid":"12860938","authors":"Vogelzang NJ, Rusthoven JJ, Symanowski J, et al.","paperType":"rct","findings":["Median overall survival 12.1 vs 9.3 months.","Objective response 41.3 percent vs 16.7 percent."],"whatItMeans":"Platinum-pemetrexed remains the chemotherapy backbone in mesothelioma, now combined with pembrolizumab or bevacizumab, or replaced by dual immunotherapy in non-epithelioid disease.","caveats":["Single-agent cisplatin comparator.","Vitamin supplementation changed mid-trial."],"changedPractice":true,"participants":456},"route":"/key-papers/paper-vogelzang-pemetrexed-mesothelioma-jco-2003/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"peritoneal-mesothelioma","kind":"cancer","name":"Peritoneal mesothelioma","route":"/cancers/peritoneal-mesothelioma/"},{"id":"pleural-mesothelioma","kind":"cancer","name":"Pleural mesothelioma","route":"/cancers/pleural-mesothelioma/"}],"drug":[{"id":"cisplatin","kind":"drug","name":"Cisplatin","route":"/drugs/cisplatin/"},{"id":"pemetrexed","kind":"drug","name":"Pemetrexed","route":"/drugs/pemetrexed/"}],"journal":[{"id":"jco","kind":"journal","name":"Journal of Clinical Oncology","route":"/journals/jco/"}]}}