ABSTRACT
Sixty patients with advanced carcinoma of the cervix were treated with 3-week cycles of chemotherapy consisting of bleomycin (10 mg/m2, D1, 2, 3), mitomycin (10 mg/m2, D1), cisplatin (80 mg/m2, D3), etoposide (100 mg/m2, D1, 2, 3). Twenty-six patients had prior therapy. Toxicities noted were primarily nausea, vomiting, asthenia, fever and myelosuppression, especially in the pre-treated patients. One patient died of pulmonary toxicity. Of the 34 untreated patients, 25 objective responses (74%) were observed, with two complete responses (6%) and among the 26 pre-treated patients, ten objective responses (39%) with only one complete response. The mean duration of response was 3.8 months [2-14]. These data indicate that combination chemotherapy regimen is active against advanced and recurrent cervical cancer but caution is required for administration and continuation of treatment after four cycles. This method of chemotherapy has significant potential for primary treatment in patients with locally advanced disease.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/drug therapy , Adenocarcinoma/mortality , Adenocarcinoma/physiopathology , Bleomycin/administration & dosage , Bleomycin/adverse effects , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/mortality , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/physiopathology , Cisplatin/administration & dosage , Cisplatin/adverse effects , Drug Evaluation , Etoposide/administration & dosage , Etoposide/adverse effects , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Mitomycins/administration & dosage , Mitomycins/adverse effects , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/mortality , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/physiopathologyABSTRACT
The 5-year survival rate of bladder tumours invading muscle is 30 to 50%, hence the theoretical value of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, whose results show 40 to 60% of objective responses. Various protocols have been used, but all include cisplatin. Our study reports the results of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 15 patients. The objective response rate was 46.6%. Among the 7 responders, 5 are alive between 22 and 45 months, while only one of the non responders is alive at 57 months. The various studies of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the bladder cancer invading muscle show interesting results, but it is necessary to continue the studies, particularly, with phase III trials (comparing local treatment alone or with neoadjuvant chemotherapy).
