Long-term response to crisnatol mesylate in patients with glioma.

A total of 26 patients (6 with anaplastic astrocytoma; 20 with glioblastoma) were treated with crisnatol mesylate. All patients had residual or progressive disease following surgery and standard radiotherapy; nine patients had prior chemotherapy. Crisnatol was administered as a 72-hour infusion every 21 days at a starting dose of 2250 mg/m2. Two patients who had not received prior chemotherapy achieved a complete response and remain in continuous complete remission over seven and six years, respectively, post-diagnosis. Two other patients remained stable on crisnatol for 10 months before disease progression. One patient with mixed oligodendroglioma/glioblastoma progressed after 12 months on crisnatol. He survives at 7 years post-diagnosis, with Karnofsky Performance Status of 60 following other therapies. One patient with anaplastic astrocytoma stopped treatment by request after 10 months and remains stable 64 months post diagnosis. Seventeen evaluable patients, including nine patients with prior chemotherapy, progressed after 2-9 courses of therapy. Median survival is 9.25 months, with a one year survival rate of 30% and 2 years survival rate of 17%. Neurotoxicity was acute and dose-limiting. Side effects were tolerable and limited to duration of infusion. Two complete, long-lasting responses to crisnatol mesylate in patients with progressive malignant glioma are encouraging results and warrant further investigation.

Current status of chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and immunotherapy in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma is an uncommon but lethal disease. Since many patients initially present with metastatic disease and/or fail primary local therapy, therapeutic alternatives are needed. In our review of single agents none emerge as uniformly effective, although a number of chemotherapeutic agents are somewhat active, as is the hormonal agent, medroxyprogesterone. Combination chemotherapy, with and without hormonal agents and immunotherapeutics, appears to be somewhat more active, with several reports of CRs. Immunotherapeutic agents alone show promise in the limited studies reported to date. Several studies are now in progress, attempting to study new agents and combinations in this disease. Physicians are urged to participate in these studies.