Epirubicin and ifosfamide in advanced soft tissue sarcomas

Chemoradiotherapy for Inoperable Carotid Body Leiomyosarcoma: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Vascular leiomyosarcoma is an extremely rare tumor and is associated with poor prognosis among leiomyosarcoma. Surgical resection remains the main treatment option. But outcome of definitive treatment with chemoradiotherapy in inoperable patients is not clear. Here, we report treatment and outcome of definitive chemoradiotherapy in a case of vascular leiomyosarcoma. A 64-year-old man with the initial presentation of pulsatile right neck mass was diagnosed with right carotid body leiomyosarcoma. He refused surgical intervention due to risk of carotid body injury and ischemic stroke. Successful tumor control was achieved with carboplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Investigational liquid biopsy for circulating sarcoma cells was also performed to analyze drug sensitivity profile of this rare tumor. One year after treatment, the disease remained well controlled and there was no evidence of baroreflex failure or treatment-related late toxicities. To our best knowledge, this is the first case report of right carotid body leiomyosarcoma controlled with definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The approach of personalized multi-modality treatment will be a focus of our future investigation.

Gemcitabine and docetaxel combination chemotherapy for advanced bone and soft tissue sarcomas: protocol for an open-label, non-randomised, Phase 2 study

Background

The prognosis of patients with metastatic or advanced sarcomas is poor and there are few options for treatment. Several studies have shown that gemcitabine and docetaxel (GD) combination chemotherapy has antitumor activity against various subtypes of sarcoma. Recently, some studies have shown a favourable outcome for GD combination chemotherapy for relapsed high-grade osteosarcoma and spindle cell sarcoma of bone. If the effectiveness of GD is proven, this will result in new treatment options for advanced bone and soft tissue sarcomas (STS). The aim of this prospective Phase 2 study is to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the GD combination in patients with advanced bone sarcomas and STS.

Methods

This is a Phase 2, single-arm, open-label study to investigate the efficacy and safety of combination chemotherapy with GD for advanced bone sarcomas and STS and will enrol 20 patients. The patients will receive gemcitabine 900 mg/m² on Days 1 and 8, and docetaxel 70 mg/m² on Day 8 in 3-week cycles until disease progression or other evidence of treatment failure. The primary aim of this study is to analyse GD’s effect on progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary objectives are to analyse treatment efficacy and safety in terms of response rate, tumour control rate, overall survival, and adverse event rate. The length of follow-up will be 5 years.

Discussion

This study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of combination therapy with gemcitabine and docetaxel for bone sarcomas and STS. If this combination proves to be acceptable, it could be used for as second, third, or later line therapy for patients with sarcomas (especially bone sarcomas). In the future, the role of various treatments, including GD therapy, will be clarified for specific subtypes of sarcoma.

Trial registration

This study was registered as UMIN000031004 (University Hospital Medical Information Network-Clinical Trial Registry: UMIN-CTR) on 1 March 1 2018 and with the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCT) as jRCTs051180042 on 30 January 2019. The posted information will be updated as needed to reflect protocol amendments and study progress.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-019-5923-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Increasing dose of Continuous Infusion Ifosfamide and Fixed dose of Bolus Epirubicin in Soft Tissue Sarcomas. A Study of the Italian Group on Rare Tumors

Purpose

To evaluate the maximum tolerated doses (MTD) of ifosfamide when given as a continuous infusion and in combination with fixed doses of bolus 4′-epidoxorubicin in advanced previously untreated adult soft tissue sarcoma patients.

Methods

Treatment consisted of epidoxorubicin, 60 mg/m2 days one and two, and ifosfamide, 1.5 g/m2 every 12 hrs as a 72-hr infusion, at the first level. Further levels of ifosfamide were defined as increments of 12 hrs of the same infusion program. G-CSF 300 μg/die was administered from days +7 to +14. Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was defined as: G4 leukopenia or thrombocytopenia of ≥5 days; any G3 neuro or nephrotoxicity; G4 toxicity of any kind. Patients had to complete at least 2 consecutive cycles, and MTD was defined as the level in which 20% of patients developed a DLT; 10-15 patients were entered in each level.

Results

First level: overall, 13 patients entered, 3 were not assessable for MTD, and only one developed a DLT. Second level: 18 patients entered, 3 were not assessable for MTD. Hematologic DLT was observed in 3/15 assessable patients. Therefore, the MTD was found at the ifosfamide level of 10.5 g/m2 given in 84 hrs. Eight patients of 29 assessable for response achieved an objective response: 1 complete and 7 partial. The overall response rate was 28% (95% CI: 13-47%).

Conclusions

If we accept 4-day G4 leukopenia as a reliable cutoff for safety, ifosfamide intensification cannot be substantially exploited over already available schedules with the combination of ifosfamide and anthracyclines.

Salvage Therapy in Advanced Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials

BACKGROUND

Prognosis for patients with metastatic soft tissue sarcomas (STS) is dismal, with median overall survival (OS) of 8-12 months. The role of second-line therapy has been inconsistently investigated over the last 20 years. This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to assess the efficacy of salvage treatment in pretreated adult type STS, gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) excluded.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, EMBASE, CINAHL, and The Cochrane Library were searched for randomized phase II/phase III trials exploring second- or beyond therapy lines in pretreated metastatic STS. Two independent investigators extracted data; the quality of eligible studies was resolved by consensus. Hazard ratio (HR) of death and progression (OS and progression-free survival [PFS]) and odds ratio (OR) for response rate (RR) were pooled in a fixed- or random-effects model according to heterogeneity. Study quality was assessed with the Cochrane's risk of bias tool, and publication bias with funnel plots.

RESULTS

Overall, 10 randomized trials were selected. The pooled HR for death was 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73-0.9). Second-line therapy reduced the risk of progression by 49% (HR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.34-0.76). This translated into an absolute benefit in OS and PFS by 3.3 and 1.6 months, respectively. Finally, RR with new agents or chemotherapy doublets translated from 4.3% to 7.6% (OR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.22-2.50).

CONCLUSION

Better survival is achieved in patients treated with salvage therapies (chemotherapy, as single or multiple agents or targeted biological agents). A 3-months gain in OS and an almost double RR is observed. Second lines also attained a reduction by 50% the risk of progression.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

There is some evidence that salvage therapies after first-line failure are able to improve outcome in metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Trabectedin, gemcitabine-based therapy, and pazopanib are currently approved drugs used after conventional upfront treatment. This meta-analysis reviews the benefit of new agents used in randomized trials in comparison with no active treatments or older agents for recurrent/progressed STS. The results show that modern drugs confer a statistically significant 3-month benefit in terms of overall survival, and an increase in response rate. Despite a limited improvement in outcome, currently approved second-line therapy should be offered to patients with good performance status.

Ki67 and p53 in gastrointestinal stromal tumors--GIST

CONTEXT

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal tumor. Cellular proliferation and apoptosis is gaining importance for predicting prognosis in several cancers.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the Ki67 and p53 immunostaining in GISTs.

METHODS

Specimens from 40 patients with GIST were assessed for immunohistochemical expression of Ki67 and p53. The tumors were divided according the risk of recurrence in two groups: I with high or intermediate risk and; II with low or very low risk.

RESULTS

Among the 40 patients, 21 were men, the mean age was 56 years, 16 occurred in the small intestine and 13 in the stomach, 5 in the retroperitonium, 4 in the colon or rectum and 2 in the mesenterium. Thirty two tumors were from group I and 8 from group II. Half of the patients developed recurrence, being 90% of the group I (P = 0.114). The tumor Ki67 labelling index ranged from 0.02 to 0.35 (mean level 0.12). This index was marginally higher in the group I patients with recurrence (P = 0.09) compared to the patients of the same group without recurrence. p53 staining was expressed in 65% of the GISTs. A higher frequency of p53 and Ki67 had been found in the group I tumors when compared to the other group (P = 0.022; OR = 8.00 - IC 95%: 1.32-48.65).

CONCLUSION

The most common site was the small intestine and 80% had a malignant potential justifying the high recurrence observed. No significant correlation was found between p53 and overall outcome of the patients. In group I patients, the evaluation Ki67LI may be a marker of prognosis. The positivity of both markers is higher among the patients with worst prognosis than in the others.

Efficacy and safety of trabectedin in patients with advanced or metastatic liposarcoma or leiomyosarcoma after failure of prior anthracyclines and ifosfamide: results of a randomized phase II study of two different schedules

PURPOSE

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of trabectedin in a phase II, open-label, multicenter, randomized study in adult patients with unresectable/metastatic liposarcoma or leiomyosarcoma after failure of prior conventional chemotherapy including anthracyclines and ifosfamide.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients were randomly assigned to one of two trabectedin regimens (via central venous access): 1.5 mg/m(2) 24-hour intravenous infusion once every 3 weeks (q3 weeks 24-hour) versus 0.58 mg/m(2) 3-hour IV infusion every week for 3 weeks of a 4-week cycle (qwk 3-hour). Time to progression (TTP) was the primary efficacy end point, based on confirmed independent review of images.

RESULTS

Two hundred seventy patients were randomly assigned; 136 (q3 weeks 24-hour) versus 134 (qwk 3-hour). Median TTP was 3.7 months versus 2.3 months (hazard ratio [HR], 0.734; 95% CI, 0.554 to 0.974; P = .0302), favoring the q3 weeks 24-hour arm. Median progression-free survival was 3.3 months versus 2.3 months (HR, 0.755; 95% CI, 0.574 to 0.992; P = .0418). Median overall survival (n = 235 events) was 13.9 months versus 11.8 months (HR, 0.843; 95% CI, 0.653 to 1.090; P = .1920). Although somewhat more neutropenia, elevations in AST/ALT, emesis, and fatigue occurred in the q3 weeks 24-hour, this regimen was reasonably well tolerated. Febrile neutropenia was rare (0.8%). No cumulative toxicities were noted.

CONCLUSION

Prior studies showed clinical benefit with trabectedin in patients with sarcomas after failure of standard chemotherapy. This trial documents superior disease control with the q3 weeks 24-hour trabectedin regimen in liposarcomas and leiomyosarcomas, although the qwk 3-hour regimen also demonstrated activity relative to historical comparisons. Trabectedin may now be considered an important new option to control advanced sarcomas in patients after failure of available standard-of-care therapies.

Ifosfamide-based combination chemotherapy in advanced soft-tissue sarcoma: a practice guideline

QUESTIONS

In adult patients with inoperable locally advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma, do combination chemotherapy regimens containing ifosfamide have an advantage in terms of response rate, time to progression, or survival, as compared with similar regimens without ifosfamide when used as first-line therapy? What are the adverse effects and effects on quality of life of ifosfamide-containing combination chemotherapy as compared with similar regimens without ifosfamide?

PERSPECTIVES

The prognosis for patients with inoperable or meta-static soft-tissue sarcoma (sts) remains grim. Although the surgical resection of pulmonary metastases may be curative in 15%-30% of patients with isolated slow-growing metastases, most patients receive chemotherapy for palliative purposes. Ifosfamide has documented activity in patients who have received prior treatment with, or who have progressed on, doxorubicin. A number of studies have suggested a schedule and a dose-response relationship for ifosfamide in metastatic sts. Ifosfamide has also been assessed in combination with other drugs such as doxorubicin and dacarbazine (dtic); results of such studies have led some authors to suggest that polychemotherapy using "appropriate doses" of ifosfamide and doxorubicin may represent the "most effective systemic treatment" in this population. Given the limited effective therapeutic options available for patients with metastatic sts, the Sarcoma Disease Site Group (dsg) felt that a need existed to more specifically evaluate the potential benefits of ifosfamide-containing combination chemotherapy in that setting. The Sarcoma dsg developed an evidence-based series report through systematic review, evidence synthesis, and input from practitioners across Ontario.

OUTCOMES

Outcomes of interest included survival, response rate, adverse events, and quality of life.

METHODOLOGY

A systematic review and meta-analysis served as the evidentiary base for this clinical practice guideline. The report was reviewed and approved by the Sarcoma dsg, which comprises medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, methodologists, and patient representatives. The results of an external review by Ontario practitioners, obtained through a mailed survey, were incorporated into this report. Final approval of the evidence-based series report was obtained from the Report Approval Panel of Cancer Care Ontario's Program in Evidence-Based Care (pebc).

RESULTS

The current practice guideline reflects a combination of the draft recommendations (based on the evidence identified in a systematic review and meta-analysis) and the external feedback from Ontario practitioners and the pebc's Report Approval Panel.

PRACTICE GUIDELINE

In patients with metastatic sts, the addition of ifosfamide to standard first-line doxorubicin-containing regimens is not recommended over single-agent doxorubicin. However, in patients with symptomatic, locally advanced, or inoperable sts, in whom tumour response might potentially result in reduced symptomatology or render a tumour resectable, use of ifosfamide in combination with doxorubicin is reasonable. QUALIFYING STATEMENT: In combination with a doxorubicin-containing regimen, the dose of ifosfamide should not exceed 7.5 g/m(2), given as either a split bolus or a continuous infusion.

State-of-the art therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumors

Until recently, there were few effective therapeutic options for patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Most patients undergoing even potentially curative resection for early-stage disease recurred if followed for a sufficiently long period, and treatment of advanced tumors with systemic chemotherapy was ineffective. Imatinib mesylate, a molecularly targeted agent that inhibits the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase, has now been demonstrated to be highly effective at inducing objective responses in GIST patients, and it improves overall survival. In locoregional disease, ongoing studies are assessing the use of imatinib pre-or postsurgery. In addition, other agents possessing activity against a variety of molecular targets are being tested in advanced disease. Questions remain about the optimal dose of imatinib, whether to continue drug in the setting of progressive disease, and how best to prevent or overcome resistance.

Feasibility of chemosensitivity testing in soft tissue sarcomas

BACKGROUND: Soft tissue sarcomas comprise less than 1% of all solid malignancies. The presentation and behavior of these tumors differs depending on location and histological characteristics. Standard therapy consists of complete surgical resection in combination with adjuvant radiotherapy. The role of chemotherapy is not clearly defined and is largely restricted to clinical trials. Only a limited number of agents have proved to be effective in soft tissue sarcomas. The use of doxorubicin, epirubicin and ifosfamide allowed response rates of more than 20%. In addition, recent chemotherapy trials did not demonstrate any significant differences in efficacy for various histological subtypes. METHODS: The objective of this study was to gain additional information about the chemosensitivity of soft tissue sarcomas to seven 7 different chemotherapy agents as single drugs and 4 combinations. Therefore we used an established ATP based in-vitro testing system and examined 50 soft tissue sarcomas. Chemosensitivity was assessed using a luciferin-luciferase-based luminescence assay providing individual chemosensitivity indices for each agent tested. RESULTS: The sensitivity varied widely according to the histological subtypes. The tumors state of cellular dedifferentiation played a crucial role for the efficiency of the chemotherapeutic agents. The sensitivity also depended on the presentation of the sarcoma as a primary or recurrent tumor. The highest sensitivity was demonstrated for actinomycin D as a single agent, with 74% of the tumor samples exhibiting a high-grade sensitivity (20% low sensitivity, no resistance). The combination of actinomycin D and ifosfamide yielded a high sensitivity in 76% (2% resistance). Doxorubicin as a mono-therapy or in combination with ifosfamide achieved high sensitivity in 70% and 72%, respectively, and resistance in 6% of the samples. CONCLUSION: Chemosensitivity testing is feasible in soft tissue sarcomas. It can be used to create sensitivity and resistance profiles of established and new cytotoxic agents and their combinations in soft tissue sarcomas. Our data demonstrate measurable discrepancies of the drug efficiency in soft tissue sarcomas, sarcoma subtypes and tumor recurrencies. However, current therapeutic regime does not take this in consideration, yet.

Clinical management of gastrointestinal stromal tumors: before and after STI-571

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal neoplasm of the gastrointestinal tract. Until recently, surgery has been the only effective therapy for GIST. However, even after complete resection of tumor, many patients still eventually die of disease recurrence. Conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy have been of limited value. Within the last few years, it was discovered that most GISTs have a gain-of-function mutation in the c-kit proto-oncogene. This results in ligand-independent activation of the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase and an unopposed stimulus for cell growth. STI-571 is a small molecule that selectively inhibits the enzymatic activity of the ABL, platelet-derived growth factor receptor, and KIT tyrosine kinases and the BCR-ABL fusion protein and is a landmark development in cancer therapy. Its clinical development marks a new era of rational and targeted molecular inhibition of cancer that emanates from direct collaborations between scientists and clinicians. It provides proof of the principle that a specific molecular inhibitor can drastically and selectively alter the survival of a neoplastic cell with a particular genetic aberration. The advent of STI-571 has markedly altered the clinical approach to GIST. It has proven to be effective in metastatic GIST and is also under investigation as a neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy.

Dose-intensive chemotherapy in advanced adult soft tissue sarcoma

The treatment of metastatic soft tissue sarcomas in adults is one of the most challenging areas in oncology. While multidisciplinary management of early-stage, localized disease has led to a number of improved outcomes, therapy of unresectable or advanced disease remains problematic. Virtually every conventional cytotoxic agent has been systematically assessed in this malignancy, yet only a handful have demonstrated significant activity. Adriamycin and ifosfamide are the only chemotherapeutic drugs to have consistently produced response rates of over 20% when given as single agents and these two drugs have been exhaustively studied alone or in combination. Recent efforts to improve response rates and, by inference, disease-free survival and overall survival, have involved exploration of high-dose regimen incorporating growth factors and/or autologous cellular support. In this article, the status of dose-intensive chemotherapy in advanced adult soft tissue sarcomas (excluding pediatric histologies, such as Ewing's sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma) will be discussed. Emphasis will be placed on data from randomized Phase III trials but information from Phase I/II studies will also be reviewed and recommendations will be made on a systematic analysis of the data.

Increasing single epirubicin doses in advanced soft tissue sarcomas

PURPOSE

To evaluate the maximum-tolerated dose and the clinical efficacy of epirubicin in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Sixty-one patients were treated at three different epirubicin dose levels: 140 mg/m(2) (six patients), 160 mg/m(2) (52 patients), and 180 mg/m(2) (three patients). Cycles were repeated every 3 weeks for a maximum of eight cycles. The first two dose levels proved to be feasible and safe without dose-limiting toxicity (DLT). Because the first three patients entering the third dose level experienced DLT, subsequent patients received the next lower dose level.

RESULTS

The overall response rate was 44% (95% confidence interval, +/- 12%), with six complete (10%) and 21 partial (34%) responses. Responses seemed related to epirubicin dose level, because the response rate was 17%, 44%, and 100% for the three dose levels (chi(2) test for trend, P =.02). Median response duration, median time to progression, and median overall survival were 10, 8, and 15 months, respectively. Myelosuppression was the most frequent side effect, with grade 3 or 4 neutropenia occurring in 79% of the patients; 31% of patients were febrile. Nonhematologic toxicity was mainly grades 1 and 2. The mean epirubicin dose-intensity was 49 mg/m(2) per week.

CONCLUSION

The third epirubicin dose level (180 mg/m(2)) was the maximum-tolerated dose. The recommended drug dose for clinical use is 160 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks with hematopoietic support. Single high-dose epirubicin is effective as first-line treatment and should be preferentially used whenever a high response rate is important to allow the resection of an otherwise unresectable disease or whenever it might result in a significant symptomatic benefit.

High-dose chemotherapy in adult soft tissue sarcoma

Soft tissue sarcomas represent a rare and heterogeneous disease. Only few drugs have been identified to be active, with doxorubicin, epirubicin and ifosfamide being the only agents with response rates above 20%. Combination chemotherapy results in higher response rates, however, superiority against single agent chemotherapy in terms of survival has not been established yet. Since a dose-response relationship is suggested for the anthracyclines and especially ifosfamide, high-dose or dose-intensive chemotherapy with bone marrow or stem cell support has been evaluated by several investigators. The studies are usually small, and included a very heterogeneous group of patients. Randomized trials have not been done, so that definite conclusions cannot be drawn to date. High-dose chemotherapy in soft tissue sarcoma has to be considered highly investigational and should not be performed outside clinical trials. Future studies should be focused on the development of active regimens, resulting in complete remission rates, that can be expected to translate into longer survival. Finally, well designed and appropriately powered randomized trials, using established prognostic and predictive factors, should be carried out, preferably in younger patients and in the context of a potentially curative multimodality approach.

Adjuvant chemotherapy for adult soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities and girdles: results of the Italian randomized cooperative trial

PURPOSE

Adjuvant chemotherapy for soft tissue sarcoma is controversial because previous trials reported conflicting results. The present study was designed with restricted selection criteria and high dose-intensities of the two most active chemotherapeutic agents.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients between 18 and 65 years of age with grade 3 to 4 spindle-cell sarcomas (primary diameter > or = 5 cm or any size recurrent tumor) in extremities or girdles were eligible. Stratification was by primary versus recurrent tumors and by tumor diameter greater than or equal to 10 cm versus less than 10 cm. One hundred four patients were randomized, 51 to the control group and 53 to the treatment group (five cycles of 4'-epidoxorubicin 60 mg/m(2) days 1 and 2 and ifosfamide 1.8 g/m(2) days 1 through 5, with hydration, mesna, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor).

RESULTS

After a median follow-up of 59 months, 60 patients had relapsed and 48 died (28 and 20 in the treatment arm and 32 and 28 in the control arm, respectively). The median disease-free survival (DFS) was 48 months in the treatment group and 16 months in the control group (P =.04); and the median overall survival (OS) was 75 months for treated and 46 months for untreated patients (P =.03). For OS, the absolute benefit deriving from chemotherapy was 13% at 2 years and increased to 19% at 4 years (P =.04).

CONCLUSION

Intensified adjuvant chemotherapy had a positive impact on the DFS and OS of patients with high-risk extremity soft tissue sarcomas at a median follow-up of 59 months. Therefore, our data favor an intensified treatment in similar cases. Although cure is still difficult to achieve, a significant delay in death is worthwhile, also considering the short duration of treatment and the absence of toxic deaths.