Salvage chemotherapy with amrubicin and platinum for relapsed thymic carcinoma: experience in six cases.
It has been reported that cisplatin-based chemotherapy shows beneficial effects in certain patients with advanced thymic carcinoma. However, the usefulness of salvage therapy has not been reported. We focused on a new anthracycline agent, amrubicin, combined with platinum compounds as salvage chemotherapy in patients with thymic carcinoma. Six cases of unresectable and locally advanced thymic carcinoma relapsed from prior cisplatin-containing chemotherapy were treated with amrubicin (30-40 mg/m(2) day 1-3) plus platinum compounds (cisplatin 60 mg/m(2) day 1 or nedaplatin 70 mg/m(2) day 1) chemotherapy as salvage chemotherapy. Two patients showed a partial response. However, Grade 3/4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia occurred in all and two of the patients, respectively. We conclude that thymic carcinoma is sensitive to platinum-based chemotherapy and that amrubicin appears to have significant activity against thymic carcinoma. The major toxicity is hematological toxicities.
First Department of Internal Medicine, Shinshu University School of Internal Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi Matsumoto, 390-8621 Matsumoto, Japan. tomonobu@shinshu-u.ac.jp
Tomonobu
T
Koizumi
Toshihiko
T
Agatsuma
Takashi
T
Ichiyama
Toshiki
T
Yokoyama
Atsuhito
A
Ushiki
Yoshimichi
Y
Komatsu
Tsuyoshi
T
Tanabe
Takashi
T
Kobayashi
Sumiko
S
Yoshikawa
Masanori
M
Yasuo
Hiroshi
H
Yamamoto
Keishi
K
Kubo
Tsutomu
T
Hachiya
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018943:Anthracyclines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D017671:Platinum Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000379:methods; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D013945:Thymoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
D018943:Anthracyclines; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D017671:Platinum Compounds; C055866:amrubicin