A breakthrough drug cocktail which can almost double the life expectancy of people suffering from a devastating lung disease could be available on prescription within the next 12 months.

The Northern Echo reported last year how the combination drug used to treat mesothelioma had been a success in clinical trials carried out by researchers at Newcastle University.

Mesothelioma, which is usually inoperable, attacks the membranes lining the inside of the chest and the outside of the lungs and is caused largely by exposure to asbestos.

Victims are normally expected to live between six and 18 months once the disease is diagnosed, but trials of the drug cocktail found that in a handful of cases patients survived for three years or more.

It is now set to be licensed within the next year or so, enabling it to be prescribed by doctors, after being made available at selected cancer centres around the country on a compassionate use basis.

US drug company Eli Lilley has to date been paying for trials to take place.

The combination drug consists of newly developed permetrexed, created by Eli Lilley and known by the trade name Alimta, and existing drug carboplatin.

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at charity Cancer Research UK, said: "Mesothelioma is a serious condition that is difficult to treat and this is an important development."

On average about 300 new cases of mesothelioma are reported in the Northern and Yorkshire region every year, according to figures from the Leeds based Northern Cancer Registry.

The disease, which commonly develops in men between 50 and 70 years of age, is linked to a number of industries such as shipbuilding and the chemical industry where exposure to asbestos was often common place.

Researchers have stressed that the drug, which causes lung tumours to temporarily shrink and allows sufferers to breathe easier, is not a cure but a step in the right direction.

*Anyone receiving treatment for mesothelioma who would like more information on clinical trials can contact the Cancer Research UK cancer information nurses confidentially on freephone (0800) 226237 between Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm or e-mail cancer.info.org.uk