الفهرس 
cover EnglishOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 165 |  |  |
| | | from | 165 | | |
Abstract
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare form of cancer that develops from cells of the mesothelium . Pleural mesothelioma accounts for about 75 percent of all diagnoses of asbestos-related cancers. The disease forms in the pleura and is attributed directly to occupational exposure to airborne asbestos fibers. International incidence of malignant mesothelioma is 0.9 case per 100,000 persons annually. US incidence is 2500-3500 cases diagnosed per year. The incidence of MPM in Egypt showed a steady increase from 24 cases in 1998 to 82 cases in 2005 followed by a gradual decline to 68 cases in 2006 and 51 cases in 2007. Malignant mesothelioma is a difficult diagnosis to establish. The current treatment for advanced MPM is platinum based combination chemotherapy (Standard regiment based on phase 3 trials are Vogelzang 2003 used pemetrexed and cisplatin and Van Meerbeeck 2005 used raltitrexed and cisplatin.). The combination of gemcitabine and platinum has demonstrated acceptable response and survival rates in several trials. Methods: This is a retrospective study which included 63 cases of advanced MPM and were treated with gemcitabine/platinum at National Cancer Institute (NCI) Egypt during the period 1/2010-12/2012. It also evaluated the efficacy of Gemcitabine and Platinum in the treatment as regarding to the response rate : overall survival and progression free survival. Results: We observed a 38 % response rate (n=19) representing partial responses and stable disease 34% (n=17) while non-responders (progressive disease ) constituted 28% (n=14). The median survival was 14months (95% Confidence Interval: 9.2-18.8 m) , the median progression free survival (PFS)was 6 months (95% Confidence Interval :3.8-8.2) Conclusion: The combination of gemcitabine and platinum is still an active treatment protocol in patients with MPM. Recommendation: Further studies including large number of patients and follow up for long periodare recommended to evaluate the efficacy of Gemcitabine and Platinum in the treatment of advance MPM. Keywords: Advance malignant pleural mesothelioma , Gemcitabine and Platinum , overall survival , progression of free disease survival.