Table 1. Series of ⩾15 patients with MPM treated with single-agent chemotherapy since 1995.
| Single agent | First author (year) | No. of patients | Responders | 95% confidence interval (%) | Median survival (months) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | % | |||||
| Anthracyclines and related compounds | ||||||
| Liposomal doxorubicin | Baas (2000) | 32 | 2 | 6 | 0–20 | 13 |
| Liposomal doxorubicin | Oh (2000) | 24 | 0 | 0 | na | 9.3 |
| Liposomal danaurubicin | Steele (1998) | 11 | 0 | 0 | na | 6.1 |
| Platinum compounds | ||||||
| ZD0473 | Giaccone (2001) | 10 | Two regressions of evaluable disease | na | na | |
| Alkylating agents | ||||||
| Ifosfamide | Andersen (1999) | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0–11 | 10 |
| Etoposide i.v. | Sahmoud (1997) | 49 | 2 | 4 | 1–15 | 7.3 |
| Etoposide p.o. | Sahmoud (1997) | 45 | 3 | 7 | 2–20 | 9.5 |
| Topoisomerase interactive agents | ||||||
| Campthotecin analogues | ||||||
| Irinotecan | Kindler (2000) | 28 | 0 | 0 | 10–55 | 7.9 |
| Topotecan | ||||||
| Maksymiuk (1998) | 22 | 0 | 0 | na | 8 | |
| Antimicrotubule agents | ||||||
| Vinca alcaloids | ||||||
| Vinorelbine | Steele (2000) | 64 | 12 | 21 | 10–44 | 13.4 |
| Vincristine | Martensson (1989) | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0–14 | 7 |
| Vinblastine | Cowan (1988) | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0–16 | 3 |
| Taxanes | ||||||
| Docetaxel | Belani (1999) | 19 | 1 | 5 | 0–26 | na |
| Docetaxel | Vorobiof (2000) | 22 | 3 | 14 | 7–46 | 12 |
| Paclitaxel | v. Meerbeck (1996) | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0–15 | 9.8 |
| Paclitaxel | Vogelzang (1999) | 35 | Three regressions of evaluable disease | 2–10 | 5 | |
| Antimetabolites | ||||||
| Edatrexate | Kindler (1999) | 20 | 5 | 25 | 9–49 | 9.6 |
| Edatrexate+LV-rescue | Kindler (1999) | 38 | 6 | 16 | 6–31 | 6.6 |
| Gemcitabine | Kindler (2001) | 17 | 0 | 0 | 3–13 | 4.1 |
| Gemcitabine | van Meerbeck (1999) | 27 | 2 | 7 | 1–24 | 8 |
| Gemcitabine | Bischoff (1998) | 16 | 5 | 31 | na | na |
| Pemetrexed | Scagliotti (2001) | 62 | 9 | 6 | na | 10.7 |
na=not applicable.