Treatment of unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma in 2021: emerging standards in immunotherapy

Abstract

Patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) have historically poor outcomes and treatment, and their treatments have been limited to palliative chemotherapy. Recent efforts to improve prognosis for these patients by adding angiogenesis inhibitors to chemotherapy led to significant benefits. However, the emergence of immunotherapy combinations for the front-line treatment has upended the standard of care and has led to the first new FDA approvals for the treatment of MPM in nearly two decades. This review aims to cover the main clinical trials in unresectable MPM with VEGF inhibitors and immunotherapy which have led to paradigm shifts in current practice. Ongoing clinical trials exploring the combination of chemo and immunotherapies show a great deal of promise, and continued support for ambitious, large-scale well-designed trials remain vital for defining the future outcomes of patients diagnosed with MPM.

Keywords

Malignant pleural mesothelioma / VEGF / chemotherapy / immunotherapy / PD-L1 / CTLA-4

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