Pemetrexed and bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy for pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung

Abstract

Abstract. Pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung is a rare, highly malignant subtype of lung cancer, with a more aggressive clinical course compared with other types of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Pemetrexed and bevacizumab are currently evaluated as two of the most reliable chemotherapeutic drugs for advanced NSCLC. We herein report a case of a 68-and a 46-year-old man with recurrent and chemo-naïve pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung, respectively, who were treated with a combination of carboplatin, pemetrexed and bevacizumab. The overall survival after the initiation of chemotherapy was 30 and 8 months, respectively. These cases exhibited a relatively long-term survival with chemotherapy. In the absence of definitive clinical trials, which are unlikely to be performed due to the rarity of this tumor, our cases demonstrated the potential utility of pemetrexed-and bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy. Our results also suggested that pemetrexed-containing chemotherapy may be key to the treatment of pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung.

Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma: a population-based retrospective study using SEER data

“…Since then, new chemotherapeutic agents have been approved and supportive treatment developed to reduce the effects of adverse reactions has improved treatment response. Tamura et al reported relatively long-term survival in two PPC patients treated with a carboplatin, pemetrexed, bevacizumab regimen (24), and Lee et al reported strong responses to treatment with mesna, doxorubicin, ifosfamide, and dacarbazine (MAID) in two platinum-refractory PPC patients (25).…”