Docetaxel: a therapeutic option in the treatment of cutaneous angiosarcoma: report of 9 patients.
BACKGROUND
Effective treatment options are limited for patients with cutaneous angiosarcoma (AS). Docetaxel, a member of the taxane family of drugs, reportedly has been effective in the treatment of lung, head and neck, and breast cancers. Another taxane drug, paclitaxel, reportedly had unique activity in the treatment of AS of the scalp and neck and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related Kaposi sarcoma. Therefore, the authors hypothesized that docetaxel may be of value in the treatment of cutaneous AS that is resistant to conventional therapy. However, there were only 3 case reports of the successful treatment of AS in elderly patients using docetaxel in combination with surgery and radiotherapy.


METHODS
This was a retrospective trial. After written informed consent was obtained, docetaxel was administered intravenously at a dose of 25 mg/m(2) for 1 hour weekly over a period of 8 weeks on the basis of previous reports. This treatment regimen was received by 9 patients with cutaneous AS who were treated at Kobe University Hospital between January 2003 and October 2006.


RESULTS
Six of the 9 patients who received treatment achieved major responses, including 2 complete responses and 4 partial responses. Neutropenia and peripheral neuropathy were not prominent, although severe radiation dermatitis enhanced by the docetaxel was observed in 3 patients. There were no deaths attributable to this therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
The current study demonstrated that docetaxel was effective in patients with cutaneous AS.
Nagano
Tohru
T
Division of Dermatology, Department of Clinical Molecular Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan. nagano@med.kobe-u.ac.jp
Yamada
Yozo
Y
Ikeda
Tetsuya
T
Kanki
Haruhisa
H
Kamo
Tsuneyoshi
T
Nishigori
Chikako
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077143:Docetaxel; D005260:Female; D006394:Hemangiosarcoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D043823:Taxoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D043823:Taxoids; D000077143:Docetaxel