Clinical experience with combination paclitaxel and carboplatin therapy for advanced or recurrent carcinosarcoma of the uterus.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with advanced or recurrent carcinosarcoma of the uterus.


METHODS
A retrospective review was carried out at Miyagi Prefecture Cancer Research Center Hospital. Six patients pathologically diagnosed with uterine carcinosarcoma were treated with paclitaxel (175 mg/m(2) given intravenously over 3 h) and carboplatin (dosed at AUC 6) every 3 weeks at our center between 1997 and 2003. Responses and adverse effects were assessed according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors and National Cancer Institute-Common Toxic Criteria, respectively.


RESULTS
All six patients were evaluable for toxicity, and no unacceptably severe toxicities were reported. Grades 3 and 4 hematologic toxicities occurred, but all of them were overcome by adequate treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and blood transfusions. Five of six patients had measurable disease and thus were evaluable for response: Four patients had a complete response (CR) and the remaining patient had progressive disease (PD). The median progression-free interval (PFI) for all six cases was 18 months, with a median overall survival of 25 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the number of cases was small, the regimen evaluated in the current study demonstrated higher activity and lesser toxicity than those found in previous studies in patients with advanced or recurrent uterine carcinosarcoma. Additional phase II clinical studies are necessary to evaluate fully the benefits of this regimen.
Toyoshima
Masafumi
M
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. m-tokyo@mail.tohoku.ac.jp
Akahira
Jun-Ichi
J
Matsunaga
Gen
G
Niikura
Hitoshi
H
Ito
Kiyoshi
K
Yaegashi
Nobuo
N
Tase
Toru
T
D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016190:Carboplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D002296:Carcinosarcoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
D016190:Carboplatin; D017239:Paclitaxel