Immunotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma: a long story ended in success

Abstract

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive and rare disease, mainly due to asbestos exposure, characterized by a poor prognosis. For almost two decades, platinum-based chemotherapy has been the only approved therapeutic regimen for first-line MPM, with an overall survival of 12 months. In the last years, the therapeutic scenario of different tumor types, including MPM, has dramatically changed due to immune checkpoint inhibition. The promising results of this approach have promoted new efforts into clinical research, and many trials investigating novel therapeutic combinations are currently ongoing. The aim of the present review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the most promising immunotherapeutic-based strategies currently under investigation for advanced MPM.

Establishment and validation of nomograms to predict survival probability of advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma based on the SEER database and a Chinese medical institution

“…Survival rates for advanced MPM are very low, with newly published data showing that the median survival for patients with advanced, inoperable is only 12 months (3,4). Findings from several recent studies have proposed superior efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with MPM, with ipilimumab plus nivolumab extending median survival by 4 months compared with chemotherapy in patients with advanced untreated MPM (5)(6)(7). Severe chest pain can occur when the tumor invades the chest wall, and radiotherapy is the preferred treatment for MPM to relieve pain (8).…”