Chemotherapy of non resectable soft tissue sarcomas

Twenty seven evaluable patients with progressive non resectable soft tissue or bone sarcomas were treated with a combination of adriamycin and dimethyl triazeno imidazole carboxamide (DTIC). Adriamycin was given at 60 mgm/M² I.V. on Day 1 and DTIC 250 mgm/M2 I.V. on Days 1 to 5. The regimen was repeated every 28 days. Three patients achieved a complete remission and 7 a partial remission yielding a total objective response rate of 37.0%. In addition, 44.4% of the patients experienced cessation of tumor growth accompanied by symptomatic improvement. Toxicity included nausea, vomiting, alopecia, ECG changes and myelosuppression. No drug related deaths occurred. The combination of adriamycin and DTIC is an effective method for providing palliation to patients with non resectable sarcomas.