| Exclusion Criteria: | 1) Patient has received any other investigational agents within 28 days of first day of study drug dosing.
2) Patient is </= 5 years free of another primary malignancy except: if the other primary malignancy is not currently clinically significant nor requiring active intervention, or if other primary malignancy is a basal cell skin cancer, squamous skin cancer, or a cervical carcinoma in situ.
3) Patient with Grade III/IV cardiac problems as defined by the New York Heart Association Criteria. (i.e., congestive heart failure)
4) Patients with myocardial infarction within 6 months of study.
5) Female patients who are pregnant or breast-feeding.
6) Patient has a severe and/or uncontrolled medical disease (i.e., uncontrolled diabetes, chronic renal disease, or active uncontrolled infection).
7) Patient has a known untreated or unstable brain metastasis.
8) Patient has known chronic liver disease (i.e., chronic active hepatitis, and cirrhosis).
9) Patient has a known diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. HIV patients are at much greater risk of infection when receiving highly myelosuppressive agents (cisplatin, pemetrexed, and imatinib) and for safety reasons are not eligible for this trial.
10) Patient who received prior chemotherapy for their malignant mesothelioma with the exception listed in inclusion criteria #7.
11) Patient previously received radiotherapy to >/= 25 % of the bone marrow.
12) Patient had a major surgery within 2 weeks prior to study entry.
13) Patient with any significant history of non-compliance to medical regimens or with inability to grant reliable informed consent.
14) Patients must agree not to use herbal remedies or other over-the-counter biologics (i.e. shark cartilage).
15) Prior exposure to imatinib mesylate.
16) Patients taking therapeutic levels of warfarin. However, patients receiving 1 mg daily for catheter related anticoagulation are eligible for the study. |