Pemetrexed is a chemotherapy medication for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved pemetrexed for treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma, a type of tumor of the mesothelium, the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs, in combination with cisplatin for patients whose disease is either unresectable or who are not otherwise candidates for curative surgery.
The FDA also has granted approval as a first-line treatment, in combination with cisplatin, against locally advanced and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients with non-squamous histology.
Pemetrexed is also recommended in combination with carboplatin and pembrolizumab for the first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer.