Carboplatin is a systemic chemotherapy drug with properties similar to cisplatin. It is used for palliative purposes and as a first line of treatment.

Benefits of Carboplatin

Carboplatin is one of the chemotherapy drugs in the category of reliable traditional systemic treatments—it has been used to treat other cancers such as ovarian and lung cancer. Essentially, this drug has proven to have a survival benefit good enough to garner its positive reputation.

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    Increasing Survival

    A study of 102 patients with pleural mesothelioma ineligible for surgery evaluated the efficacy of treatment with carboplatin in combination with Alimta. A promising 67 patients responded well to treatment, making it a viable treatment option.

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    Fewer Side Effects

    Carboplatin is similar to the chemotherapy drug cisplatin. They are both platinum-based drugs, but a benefit of carboplatin is that it has relatively fewer side effects. The correct drug choice, however, depends on the patient’s diagnosis.

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    Carboplatin Assisted Trials

    The combination of carboplatin and Alimta as a treatment option also plays a role in clinical trials. A study is being developed in order to determine if novel drug Cetuximab may play a role in furthering survival time after 6 cycles of carboplatin and Alimta have been administered. The study will admit 43 patients.

What is Carboplatin?

carboplatinCarboplatin (brand name: Paraplatin) is a platinum-based alkylating antineoplastic agent approved by the FDA in 1989. It is a water soluble, crystalline powder in its molecular form that is most often used to treat ovarian and lung cancers. This agent inhibits DNA synthesis, which is essential for the production of new cancer cells. By inhibiting the synthesis of DNA, mesothelioma cell growth is slowed down and sometimes stopped.

Carboplatin essentially kickstarts apoptosis, also known as “programmed cell death” or “cellular suicide.” Apoptosis is normal in healthy cells where after they divide a specific amount of times they are programmed to die to prevent unchecked cell growth.

A key aspect of cancer cells is that they aren’t subjected to apoptosis. Unchecked cell growth is how tumors develop, and carboplatin halts this process through reinstating apoptosis.

Carboplatin and Alimta

MedIcon1Because carboplatin is similar to cisplatin (both are platinum-based drugs), it is often used as a substitute to cisplatin. When combined with Alimta, platinum-based drugs have shown a significant survival benefit for patients in all stages of mesothelioma.

Although use of cisplatin and Alimta together tends to have a better overall effect on survival, doctors may opt for a carboplatin and Alimta combination because carboplatin is less potent and safer for kidney function. For these reasons, carboplatin is typically safer and used more often in treatment for elderly patients.


Carboplatin is generally administered once a month. Patients have to go to the hospital to receive the drug through an IV, which takes 15 minutes to 1 hour to be administered. It can also be given slowly over a 24-hour period.

The length of time patients receive the drug depends on factors such as:

  • Blood cell levels
  • How far the disease has spread
  • Overall patient health

Luckily, carboplatin is among the safer chemotherapy drugs, so its main benefit is that it doesn’t negatively effect a patient’s health like other chemotherapies might. It is specifically tolerated much better by the kidneys than other chemotherapy drugs.

Side Effects

The side effects of any chemotherapy drug are always the trade-off for attempting to kill cancer cells. Because carboplatin is administered into the bloodstream, it kills healthy blood cells in its mission to kill mesothelioma cells. This causes an overall decrease in blood cell count, affecting a patient’s immune system.

As such, patients on carboplatin are at a higher risk for infection and experiencing other side effects. Doctors, however, monitor the patient’s blood cell count before every administration to make sure the patient isn’t put at unreasonable risk.

Is Carboplatin Right for You?

One of the greatest benefits of carboplatin is that it has a fewer side effects relative to other chemotherapy drugs. Every patient experiences different side effects, but, overall, side effects experienced with carboplatin tend to be mild.

The only negative aspect of having fewer side effects is that, as a result, carboplatin is less effective than other chemotherapy drugs against mesothelioma cells.

Carboplatin is commonly used in patients older patients and patients who had unfavorable reactions to other platinum-based chemotherapy drugs, namely cisplatin. Only a mesothelioma specialist, however, is capable of determining if carboplatin is specifically beneficial for you. Find a mesothelioma specialist near you using our free our free Doctor Match program.