Combination chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine in malignant peritoneal mesothelioma

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare neoplasm with a rapidly fatal course. The response of this disease to treatment is poor because it tends to be advanced at diagnosis and tends to have inherent resistance to chemotherapeutic treatment. We describe three patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma who received combination chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine. After a histopathological diagnosis of epithelial-type malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, all patients underwent systemic chemotherapy because of the advanced disease stage. Moreover, one patient would have been at high risk of cardiac events, because of congenital heart malformation if complete surgical resection had been performed. This chemotherapy achieved a partial response in two patients, but had no effect in one. Combination chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine may prove to be one of the recommended treatments for patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in the near future.