MARS

Trial details

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is now a common disease, particularly in Britain, but the role of radical surgery had never been examined in a randomised trial.

The objective of MARS was to establish the possibility of allocating patients at random to have either extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) followed by radical radiotherapy or no surgical resection. The target of randomising 50 patients to the feasibility stage was met in late 2008.

The results of the MARS trial were published in The Lancet Oncology in 2011.

Chief Investigator: Professor Tom Treasure, UCL

ICR-CTSU Scientific Lead: Professor Judith Bliss

Trial management contact: [email protected]

ISRCTN: 95583524

Sponsor: Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Funding: Cancer Research UK (CRUK/04/003)

Further information

Further information on the MARS trial may be found on the following sites:

Patient friendly information on the MARS trial at CancerHelp UK

Publications and presentations

Treasure T, Bliss JM, Tan C, Entwisle J, Waller D, O'Brien M, Coombes G, Webster-Smith M, Kilburn LS, Snee MP, Thomas G, Darlison L, Lang-Lazdunski L, Peto J. Principal results of the feasibility phase of the Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery trial (MARS-feasibility). Lung Cancer 2011;71(Suppl 1):S18 #53

Treasure T, Lang-Lazdunski L, Waller D, Bliss JM, Tan C, Entwisle J, Snee M, O'Brien M, Thomas G, Senan S, O'Byrne K, Kilburn LS, Spicer J, Landau D, Edwards J, Coombes G, Darlison L, Peto J. Extra-pleural pneumonectomy versus no extra-pleural pneumonectomy for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma: clinical outcomes of the Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery (MARS) randomised feasibility study. Lanc. Oncol. 2011;12(8):763-72

Treasure T. Surgery for mesothelioma: MARS landing and future missions. Eur. J. Cardiothorac. Surg. 2010;37(3):509-10

Treasure T, Bliss J, Tan C, Entwistle J, Waller D, O'Brien M, Coombes G, Webster-Smith M, Kilburn LS, Snee M, Thomas G, Darlison L, Lang-Lazdunski L, Peto J, on behalf of the Mars trialists. Principal results of the feasibility phase of the mesothelioma and radical surgery trial (MARS-feasibility). NCRI National Cancer Conference; 2010; Liverpool.

Rusch VW. The MARS Trial: Resolution of the Surgical Controversies in Mesothelioma? J Thoracic Oncology 2009;4(10):1189-91

Snee M, Treasure T, Rogers S, Bliss J, Peto J, O'Brien M, O'Byrne K, Spicer J, Waller D. Mesothelioma and radical surgery trial (MARS): the feasibility study process. J Thoracic Oncology 2009;4(Suppl 1):S320 #B1.4

Treasure T, Tan C, Peckitt C, Entwisle J, Waller D, O'Brien M, Bliss J, Peto J, Group obotMTM. Mesothelioma and radical surger trial (MARS): the feasibility study progress. Lung Cancer 2009;63(Suppl 1):S26 #79

Treasure T, Waller D, Tan C, Entwisle J, O'Brien M, O'Byrne K, Thomas G, Snee M, Spicer J, Landau D, Lang-Lazdunski L, Bliss J, Peckitt C, Rogers S, Marriage Nee DE, Coombes G, Webster-Smith M, Peto J. The Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery Randomized Controlled Trial: The MARS Feasibility Study. J Thoracic Oncology 2009;4(10):1254-58

Duffy N, Peckitt C, Coombes G, Tan C, Treasure T, Peto J. The mesothelioma and radical surgery (MARS) trial update. Lung Cancer 2007;57(Suppl 1):S16-S17 #59

Tan C, Duffy N, Lang-Lazdunski L, Waller D, Peto J, Treasure T. The Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery (MARS) trial update. Presented at the 15th Meeting of the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons, June; 2007; Turkey.

Peckitt C, Coombes G, Duffy N. The Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery (MARS) trial update. NCRI National Cancer Conference 2006; 2006.

Treasure T, Duffy N, Tan C, Peckitt C, Coombes G. The Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery (MARS) trial update. Lung Cancer 2006;54, Supplement 1(0):S44 #182

Treasure T, Tan C, Lang-Lazdunski L, Waller D. The MARS trial: mesothelioma and radical surgery. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg 2006;5(1):58-9

Treasure T, Tan C, Piggott S, Peckitt C, Peto J, on behalf of the MARS Trial Management Group. The Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery (MARS) Trial: Trial Update. British Thoracic Oncology Group Meeting; 2005.

Peckitt C, Piggott S, Sydenham M, Treasure T, Waller D, Peto J, on behalf of the MARS Trial Management Group. The MARS (Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery) Trial, comparing extra-lpeural pneumonectomy (EPP) against no EPP surgery within a trimodality context. Clin. Oncol. (R. Coll. Radiol). 2004;16(6):S37 #P4.04

Swift S, Peto J, Waller D, Treasure T, on behalf of the MARS Trial Management Group. The MARS (Mesothelioma And Radical Surgery) Trial 2004. International Mesothelioma Interest Group; 2004.

Treasure T, Tan C, Piggott S, Peckitt C, Peto J, on behalf of the MARS Trials Management Group. The Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery (MARS) Trial: ready to launch. British Thoracic Oncology Group Meeting; 2004.

Treasure T, Waller D, Swift S, Peto J. Radical surgery for mesothelioma. BMJ 2004;328:237-38

Peto J, Denholm EE, Waller D, O'Byrne K, O'Brien M, Bliss J, Swift S, Treasure T. The MARS (Mesothelioma and radical surgery) Trial. British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG)Annual National Meeting; 2003. Not cited.

Denholm E, Gilham C, Bliss J, Peto J. The MARS (Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery) Trial. Clin. Oncol. (R. Coll. Radiol). 2002;14:S47 #C2.5