Originally published as JCO Early Release 10.1200/JCO.2008.19.8523 on March 2 2009

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Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

From the Departments of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and Pathology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL.

Corresponding author: Anne S. Tsao, MD, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 432, Houston, TX 77030; e-mail: astsao{at}mdanderson.org.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a deadly disease that occurs in 2,000 to 3,000 people each year in the United States. Although MPM is an extremely difficult disease to treat, with the median overall survival ranging between 9 and 17 months regardless of stage, there has been significant progress over the last few years that has reshaped the clinical landscape. This article will provide a comprehensive discussion of the latest developments in the treatment of MPM. We will provide an update of the major clinical trials that impact mesothelioma treatment in the resectable and unresectable settings, discuss the impact of novel therapeutics, and provide perspective on where the clinical research in mesothelioma is moving. In addition, there are controversial issues, such as the role of extrapleural pneumonectomy, adjuvant radiotherapy, and use of intensity-modulated radiotherapy versus hemithoracic therapy that will also be addressed in this manuscript.

Authors' disclosures of potential conflicts of interest and author contributions are found at the end of this article.

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