High-dose DTIC in advanced soft-tissue sarcomas in the adult

Abstract

Forty-four of 50 adult patients with advanced soft-tissue sarcoma who had received previous chemotherapy were evaluable for response after treatment with DTIC. The therapeutic schedule consisted of DTIC 1.2 g/m2 infused over 20 minutes, and repeated every 3 weeks. There were 1 complete and 7 partial remissions (objective activity 18%, 95% C.I. 7%-29%), with a median duration of 8 weeks (range 5–19), with the complete remission lasting 1 yr. Hematologic toxicity was dose-limiting; W.H.O. 3 values were observed for WBC in 36%, and for platelets in 26% of patients. The non-hematologic toxicity included nausea and vomiting (90%), a flu-like syndrome (49%), diarrhea (35%), pain in the infused vein (28%) and hypotensive episodes (4%). Intermittent high-dose DTIC is active in advanced soft-tissue sarcoma and should be considered for inclusion in combination regimens.