New drug gives mesothelioma sufferers hope

Australian doctors have released details of the first drug proven to treat mesothelioma.

The medication does not cure the condition, but can reduce pain and symptoms in patients with the disease.

David Hines does not fit the image of a patient with mesothelioma, the deadly cancer which affects some people who have been exposed to asbestos.

Treatment with a new drug called pemetrexed, or Alimta, has allowed him to travel to Europe to ride the Tour de France circuit.

"It's allowed me to do things and to keep watching my kids grow up that wouldn't have otherwise happened," Mr Hines said.

The drug is given to patients through a six week course of chemotherapy.

In Mr Hines's case, his tumour has shrunk significantly to the size it was when he was first diagnosed two years ago.

"Initially when he was diagnosed we were told it was a death sentence and the treatment has given a chance to plan and do things together," David's wife Denise said.

The drug works by blocking three enzymes which cause mesothelioma cells to divide and grow.

Cancer specialist stress the drug is not a cure, but it can offer 50 per cent of mesothelioma patients some relief from pain and their symptoms.

"It does provide hope, it provides a treatment option and that really is something that hasn't existed up until now," Sydney Cancer Centre specialist Michael Boyer said.

At $25,000 the drug is not cheap.

Doctors are hoping it will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Though in New South Wales it is free for anyone exposed to asbestos in the work place.

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