title: Vinorelbine therapy in classic Kaposi's sarcoma: a retrospective study of 20 patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Systemic chemotherapy is the main treatment of diffuse and/or aggressive classic Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) but there are no standard treatment guidelines and published literature regarding vinorelbine is lacking.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the safety and effectiveness of intravenous vinorelbine in the treatment of classic KS.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective study of a departmental database in histologically proven classic KS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty patients received intravenous vinorelbine as cycles of 20 mg/m(2) once every two weeks for 5 cycles and subsequently at a dose of 30 mg/m(2) once every three weeks. Of 19 assessable patients, three (16%) had a complete remission and 11 (58%) had a partial response, for an overall response rate of 74%. The remaining 5 patients had a stable disease (26%). Grade 3 or 4 toxicities were neutropenia (3/20 patients), deep vein thrombosis (1/20 patients) and constipation (1/20 patients). The median progression-free survival from the start of therapy until the development of progressive disease was 35.1 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vinorelbine is an effective and overall well tolerated treatment for classic KS.
authors.affiliation: U.O. Dermatologia, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda - Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, via Pace 9, 20122 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.affiliation: U.O. Dermatologia, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda - Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, via Pace 9, 20122 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Recalcati
authors.affiliation: U.O. Dermatologia, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda - Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, via Pace 9, 20122 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Athanasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tourlaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001706:Biopsy; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014747:Vinblastine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D000077235:Vinorelbine
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents; D014747:Vinblastine; D000077235:Vinorelbine
keywords: Kaposi's sarcoma; chemotherapy; intravenous vinorelbine; treatment