For those who suffer from mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer that is associated with asbestos exposure that affects the linings of the lungs, heart and abdomen, there is no known cure.

However a  study conducted by researchers who were led by a doctor from the Clatterbridge Center for Oncology in England, John Green M.D. have published a study that shows that patients treated with a combination of two cancer drugs have a higher survival rate than those who are not.

448 patients with advanced mesothelioma took part in the study. They were either treated with a single drug – cisplatin – or with the combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed and a vitamin supplement comprised of folic acid and B12.

“Pemetrexed used in combination with cisplatin significantly increases the length of survival, when compared with cisplatin alone,” the researchers wrote. “Further research is needed into the optimum treatment regimen for pleural mesothelioma.”

Researchers examined data that was culled from 20 treatment centers across Europe. Eighty one percent of the patients were men and they averaged age 61. The data indicated that those who received the combination therapy survived on average 2.8 months longer than those who were on the single drug regime. The combination therapy patients also reported that their quality of life was improved with a reduction in pain and fatigue and cough, and an increase in appetite.

There were side effects of the combination therapy. in the early stages of the trial patients showed serious toxicity symptoms, including drug related death. Blood cell abnormalities and nausea and diarrhea were also reported but these symptoms decreased after vitamins were added to the regime.

Most cases mesothelioma that are seen are in people who worked in pre OSHA regulated environments and are therefore older people. According to doctors the asbestos abatement precautions that have been put into place in modern times will possibly mean that cases seen in the future will be few and far between, if the disease is seen at all.

Still mesothelioma is projected to account for approximately 65,000 deaths between 2001 and 2050 worldwide, peaking somewhere between 2012 and 2015 and according to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency 10 to 15% of schools and other public buildings still contain asbestos insulation.