Vorinostat as second- or third-line therapy may not improve overall survival in patients with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma, according to a recent study published online ahead of print in The Lancet Oncology.

Lee M. Krug, MD, of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and fellow researchers randomized 661 patients with measurable mesothelioma who had disease progression after one or two previous systemic regimens to either vorinostat or placebo.

Primary endpoint was overall survival as well as safety and tolerability of vorinostat.


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They found that median overall survival for vorinostat was 30.7 weeks compared to 27.1 weeks with placebo.

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Common grade 3 or worse adverse events included 51 patients with fatigue or malaise in the vorinostat group compared to 25 with placebo.

“In this randomized trial, vorinostat given as a second-line or third-line therapy did not improve overall survival and cannot be recommended as a therapy for patients with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma,” the authors concluded.

Reference

  1. Krug, Lee M., MD, et al. “Vorinostat in patients with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma who have progressed on previous chemotherapy (VANTAGE-014): a phase 3, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.” The Lancet Oncology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(15)70056-2. [epub ahead of print]. March 19, 2015.