Alimta is the first and only chemotherapy drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for malignant pleural Mesothelioma. In clinical trials, Alimta (also known as pemextred for injection) was used with another anti-cancer drug called cisplatin and was shown to relieve some symptoms and improve overall quality of life for Mesothelioma victims. It works by blocking specific enzymes that may be aiding tumor growth. Alimta is injected into a vein about every 3 weeks. Patients on this treatment are required to take folic acid and B12 vitamins to lower the chance of side effects that include upset stomach, drop in white blood cells, drop in red blood cells, drop in platelet count, tiredness, mouth sores, loss of appetite, and rash.             Though Alimta is not a cure for Mesothelioma, it did help increase the average life expectancy in clinical trials from 9 months to 1 year.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 11:58 pm and is filed under Mesothelioma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.