Efficacy of Chemotherapy for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma According to Histology
Abstract PurposeCheckMate 743 trial demonstrated survival benefit of immunotherapy in first line in MPM with some differences in the efficacy of chemotherapy according to histology. The objective of this study is to characterize the impact of chemotherapy according to histology in patients diagnosed with MPM at our institution. MethodsClinical records of all MPM patients diagnosed at Vall d´Hebron University Hospital between November 2002 and April 2020 were reviewed. Associations between clinical variables and outcomes were assessed with Cox regression models. Survival data were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results189 patients were included with 76% of tumors classified as epithelioid subtype. First line chemotherapy was offered to 85% of patients. Median survival in overall population was 21.3 months (95%CI17.2-24.3). We found that patients with epithelioid tumors had better overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). Median OS of epithelioid patients treated with first line chemotherapy was 26.7 months versus 15.0 months in nonepithelioid patients (HR2.25 CI95% 1.4-3.4; p<0.001). Median PFS for patients with epithelioid tumors treated with chemotherapy was 4.8 months versus 3.6 months in nonepithelioid (HR1.5 CI95% 1.0-2.3; p=0.03). The improvement of outcomes in patients with epithelioid histology was detected in patients treated with cisplatin or carboplatin. Histology was not a predictive factor for the platinum agent sensitivity (p of interaction PFS=0.09, p of interaction OS=0.65). Conclusions In our series, patients with nonepithelioid tumors presented worse prognosis. Although epithelioid tumors exposed to cisplatin had higher PFS, histology was not a clear predictor of chemotherapy efficacy.