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Biomedical subjects

V Lorusso

Publications and source records attributed to V Lorusso.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Effects of iodinated contrast media on endothelium: An in vitro study.

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of radiographic contrast media (CM) on endothelial cells in order to compare the effects of non-ionic (Iomeron and Visipaque) and ionic (Hexabrix and Uromiro) CM on the endothelial cells (EC). Human and murine cells were exposed for 2, 4 and 24h to increasing concentrations (12.5, 25, 50 and 100mg/mL) of test compounds. Controls were incubated with complete growth medium or mannitol solution (osmotic control). MTT assay was used to evaluate the cell viability, LDH assay was used to evaluate the membrane damage. The results demonstrate a difference between non-ionic and ionic compounds in the effect on endothelium. Ionic CM show to strongly affect endothelial cells viability under all tested conditions, while non-ionic CM show effects only after prolonged exposure at 50 and 100mg/mL, which represent instant concentrations lasting just minutes after intravascular injection of CM. Taken together, these results confirm that the currently employed non-ionic contrast media are well tolerated by the vascular endothelium and have wide margins of safety.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Survival of Helicobacter pylori in artificially contaminated ultrahigh temperature and pasteurized milk.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a very important bacterial pathogen of humans which may cause gastrointestinal illnesses ranging from gastric and duodenal ulcers to neoplastic diseases such as MALToma and gastric cancer. Transmission via contaminated food is still uncertain but several authors believe this can realistically occur and milk may act as a vehicle of infection. This paper reports the results of H. pylori survival trials in pasteurized and ultrahigh temperature (UHT) milks artificially contaminated and aerobically stored at 4 degrees C. The results obtained showed that the four strains used in this study (H. pylori nat 18-19-20 and H. pylori ATCC 43504), had a progressive reduction in bacterial load with a median survival of 9 days in pasteurized milk and 12 days in UHT milk, with approximate average of initial inoculum of 10(5) and 10(6)cfu/ml, respectively. These findings are very important to clarify the route of transmission of H. pylori to humans via food and for implementation of a correct risk analysis for food safety purposes.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Oral vinorelbine plus capecitabine (oral vincap) combination in patients with advanced breast cancer (ABC). A phase II study of the GOIM (Gruppo Oncologico dell'Italia Meridionale).

BACKGROUND: Vinorelbine i.v. and capecitabine are two of the most effective single agents in previously treated advanced breast cancer (ABC). A number of studies have been reported with the combination of these agents. Actually, the availability of oral formulation for vinorelbine allows a full oral combination of the two agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity and toxicity of this novel combination. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-eight advanced breast cancer patients refractory to anthracyclines and taxanes were included in this study. Treatment consisted of vinorelbine 60 mg/m(2) (days 1 + 8), and capecitabine 2000 mg/m(2) (days 2-7 and 9-16) every 3 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 228 courses were given with a mean of three cycles/patient (range 1-12). Five patients (13.1%) had no toxicity at all. Hematologic side-effects were: neutropenia grade 2-3 in seven patients (18.9%) and grade 4 in one patient (2.7%), anemia grade 1 in 11 patients (29.7%), grade 2-3 in five patients (13.5%), thrombocytopenia grade 1 in six patients (16.2%) and grade 3 in one patient (2.7%). Non-hematologic side-effects were: fatigue grade 1 in five patients (13.5%), hand-foot syndrome grade 1 in two patients (5.4%) and grade 2 in two patients (5.4%), nausea/vomiting grade 1 in two patients (5.4%), grade 2 in three patients (8.1%) and grade 3 in one patient (2.7%), constipation grade 1 in two patients (5.4%), peripheral neurotoxicity grade 1 in three patients (8.1%) and grade 2 in one patient (2.7%), gastric pain grade 1 in two patients (5.4%), stomatitis grade 1 in three patients (8.1%) and grade 2 in one patient (2.7%). Out of 38 patients assessable, we observed two (5.4%) CR, 13 (34 %) PR, 14 (37.8%) SD and nine (26.3%) PD. The median time to progression was 4.5 months (range 1-18 months), the median response duration was 7 months (range 2-18 months) and the median survival duration was 10 months (range 2-26+). CONCLUSIONS: The oral vincap should be considered as an alternative to single agent capecitabine or vinorelbine in ABC refractory to antra-taxane combination.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2005

Phase II study of gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin as first-line chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

This phase II study evaluated the response rate and tolerability of gemcitabine-oxaliplatin chemotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Chemonaive patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC received gemcitabine 1000 mg m(-2) on days 1 and 8, followed by oxaliplatin 130 mg m(-2) on day 1. Cycles were repeated every 21 days for up to six cycles. From February 2002 to May 2004, 60 patients were enrolled into the study in seven Italian institutions. We observed one complete response (1.7%) and 14 partial responses (23.3%), for an overall response rate of 25.0% (95% confidence interval, 14.7-37.9%). The median duration of response was 5.9 months (range 1.5-17.1 months). With a median follow-up of 6.7 months, median time to progressive disease and overall survival were 2.7 (range 1.9-3.4 months) and 7.3 months (range 7.2-8.6 months), respectively. The main grade 3-4 haematological toxicities were transient neutropenia in 11.7% and thrombocytopenia in 8.3% of the patients. Nausea/vomiting was the main grade 3-4 nonhaematological toxicity, occurring in 10.0% of the patients. Two (3.3%) patients developed grade 3 neurotoxicity. Our results show that gemcitabine-oxaliplatin chemotherapy is active and well tolerated in patients with advanced NSCLC, deserving further study, especially for patients not eligible to receive cisplatin.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Oxaliplatin plus high-dose folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil i.v. bolus (OXAFAFU) versus irinotecan plus high-dose folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil i.v. bolus (IRIFAFU) in patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma: a Southern Italy Cooperative Oncology Group phase III trial.

PURPOSE: The primary end point of this phase III trial was to compare the response rate (RR) of oxaliplatin (OXA) plus levo-folinic acid (l-FA) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) bolus with that of irinotecan (IRI) plus l-FA and 5-FU bolus in advanced colorectal carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with measurable metastatic colorectal carcinoma were randomly allocated to receive: IRI 200 mg/m(2) on day 1, l-FA 250 mg/m(2) intravenously plus 5-FU 850 mg/m(2) on day 2 (IRIFAFU); or OXA 100 mg/m(2) on day 1, l-FA 250 mg/m(2) plus 5-FU 1050 mg/m(2) on day 2 [OXAFAFU high dose (hd)]. Cycles were given every 2 weeks. After a planned interim analysis, OXA was reduced to 85 mg/m(2) and 5-FU to 850 mg/m(2) [OXAFAFU low dose (ld)]. RESULTS: Two hundred and seventy-four patients (IRIFAFU, 135; OXAFAFUhd, 71; OXAFAFUld, 68) were treated. Forty-two confirmed responses were achieved with IRIFAFU, 29 with OXAFAFUhd and 32 with OXAFAFUld. The response rate with OXAFAFU [44%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 35% to 52%] was significantly higher (P=0.029) than that of IRIFAFU (31%; 95% CI 23% to 40%). Occurrence of grade > or =3 neutropenia with OXAFAFUld was similar to that for IRIFAFU (29% versus 31%), while severe diarrhoea was significantly lower (12% versus 24%). Median failure-free survival (7 versus 5.8 months; P=0.046) and overall survival of patients (18.9 versus 15.6 months; P=0.032) were significantly prolonged with OXAFAFU. CONCLUSIONS: OXAFAFU was more active and less toxic than IRIFAFU, and it should be preferred in the first-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Paclitaxel, vinorelbine and 5-fluorouracil in breast cancer patients pretreated with adjuvant anthracyclines.

We investigated the activity and toxicity of a combination of vinorelbine (VNB), paclitaxel (PTX) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) continuous infusion administered as first-line chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer patients pretreated with adjuvant anthracyclines. A total of 61 patients received a regimen consisting of VNB 25 mg m(-2) on days 1 and 15, PTX 60 mg m(-2) on days 1, 8 and 15 and continuous infusion of 5-FU at 200 mg m(-2) every day. Cycles were repeated every 28 days. Disease response was evaluated by both RECIST and World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Objective responses were recorded in 39 of 61 patients (64.0%) assessed by WHO and in 36 of 50 patients (72.0%) assessable by RECIST criteria. Complete remission occurred in 15 (24.6%) and 14 patients (28.0%), respectively. The median time to progression and overall survival of entire population was 10.6 and 27.3 months, respectively, and median duration of complete response was 14.8 months. The dose-limiting toxicity was myelosuppression (leucopenia grade 3/4 in 52.5% of patients). Grade 3/4 nonhaematologic toxicities included mucositis/diarrhoea in 13.1%, skin in 3.3% and cardiac in 1.6% of patients. Grade 2/3 neurotoxicity was observed in five patients (7.2%). The VNB, PTX and 5-FU continuous infusion combination regimen was active and manageable. Complete responses were frequent and durable.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

A randomised factorial trial of sequential doxorubicin and CMF vs CMF and chemotherapy alone vs chemotherapy followed by goserelin plus tamoxifen as adjuvant treatment of node-positive breast cancer.

The sequential doxorubicin --> CMF (CMF=cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, fluorouracil) regimen has never been compared to CMF in a randomised trial. The role of adding goserelin and tamoxifen after chemotherapy is unclear. In all, 466 premenopausal node-positive patients were randomised to: (a) CMF x 6 cycles (CMF); (b) doxorubicin x 4 cycles followed by CMF x 6 cycles (A --> CMF); (c) CMF x 6 cycles followed by goserelin plus tamoxifen x 2 years (CMF --> GT); and (d) doxorubicin x 4 cycles followed by CMF x 6 cycles followed by goserelin plus tamoxifen x 2 years (A --> CMF --> GT). The study used a 2 x 2 factorial experimental design to assess: (1) the effect of the chemotherapy regimens (CMF vs A --> CMF or arms a+c vs b+d) and (2) the effect of adding GT after chemotherapy (arms a+b vs c+d). At a median follow-up of 72 months, A --> CMF as compared to CMF significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) with a multivariate hazard ratio (HR)=0.740 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.556-0.986; P=0.040) and produced a nonsignificant improvement of overall survival (OS) (HR=0.764; 95% CI: 0.489-1.193). The addition of GT after chemotherapy significantly improved DFS (HR=0.74; 95% CI: 0.555-0.987; P=0.040), with a nonsignificant improvement of OS (HR=0.84; 95% CI: 0.54-1.32). A --> CMF is superior to CMF. Adding GT after chemotherapy is beneficial for premenopausal node-positive patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Multiexponential T2-relaxation analysis in cerebrally damaged rats in the absence and presence of a gadolinium contrast agent.

An analysis of the multiexponential relaxation of transverse nuclear magnetization with and without a gadolinium-based paramagnetic contrast agent in spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats (SHR-SP) and in the rat model of ischemia induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion is described. From the multiexponential relaxation, the presence of two T(2) relaxation times in the range of 0.03-0.5 s, T(2A) (shortest) and T(2B) (longest), with very different relative weights (respectively, A and B), is evidenced. In our models of cerebral damage, the changes in A and B were more evident than those in T(2A) and T(2B). The two T(2) values were interpreted as belonging to water molecules in two different compartments; therefore, the difference between the damaged and normal regions revealed by means of standard T(2)-weighted images is suggested to be due to a different water distribution in the two compartments, rather than different T(2)'s. The T(2) relaxation in the SHR-SP stroke model is analyzed for the first time using a multiexponential method. The power of a detailed analysis of MRI relaxation times is confirmed by the correspondence between the revealed changes in T(2A), T(2B), A and B, and the known T(2)W and DWI results about blood-brain barrier functionality.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Biomarkers predictive for clinical efficacy of taxol-based chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Several studies looked for tumor biomarkers predictive for paclitaxel sensitivity but till now no reliable biomarkers are available. The aim of this study was to verify the potential predictive value of beta-tubulin III and IV, vascular endothelial growth factor-receptor (VEGFR-1), HER2/neu and microvessel density (mVD), in a group of 70 patients with advanced breast cancer (ABC) treated with paclitaxel-based chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis (ICA) of HER2, VEGFR-1, mVd, beta-tubulin III and beta-tubulin IV expression were performed in a series of 72 advanced breast cancer. Furthermore apoptotic fraction with TUNEL analysis was evaluated. RESULTS: beta-tubulin III ICA expression was predictive of progression after chemotherapy. In fact only 2% of the patients with low beta-tubulin III expression progressed after paclitaxel chemotherapy vs 38% of those with high beta-tubulin III tumor expression (P=0.000; by chi(2)). This evidence was confirmed by a logistic regression analysis (OR 28.789; 95% CI 3.212-258,072; P=0.004). There was not a significant association between other biomarkers' characteristics and clinical response to chemotherapy. A Cox multivariate analysis, with overall survival as a dependent variable, showed that only HER2 expression was independently associated (OR 2.39; 95% CI 1.09-5.23; P=0.03) with overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that class III beta-tubulin immunohistochemical expression analysis could be a potentially relevant tumor biomarker for paclitaxel resistance in advanced breast cancer patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Phase II trial of oral vinorelbine in combination with cisplatin followed by consolidation therapy with oral vinorelbine in advanced NSCLC.

BACKGROUND: Among the cytotoxic agents commonly combined with cisplatin in the treatment of advanced NSCLC, vinorelbine has led to significant outcome improvements. Adding more than four cycles of the combination regimen increase toxicities. The availability of an oral form of vinorelbine appeared as a particularly convenient way to provide a consolidation treatment to patients who have achieved an objective response or stable disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This multi-centre phase II open-label, non-comparative study was designed to evaluate the treatment with four cycles of the combination chemotherapy with oral vinorelbine at the dose of 60 mg/m2 on day 1 and day 8 for the first cycle and then 80 mg/m2 plus cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day 1 every 3 weeks followed for patients with objective response or stable disease by consolidation therapy with oral vinorelbine at 80 mg/m2 weekly on patients with unresectable localised or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The primary endpoint was tumor response. The secondary objectives were progression free-survival, overall survival and toxicity assessment. Visual analogue scales (VAS) filled by the patients were also used to evaluate subjective changes under treatment, reflecting patients' clinical benefit. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients enrolled into the study from April 2001 to April 2002 received the combination regimen. Twenty-five patients (43.9%) also received the subsequent consolidation treatment. Partial tumor responses were obtained in 13 patients (26.5%, 95% CI 15.0-41.1) of 49 evaluable patients. Stable disease was observed in 22 (44.9%) of patients. The median duration of response was 6 months (95% CI 4.3-8.2). The median progression free-survival was 4.2 months (95% CI 2.8-6). The median overall survival time was 10 months (95% CI 7.4-14) and the 1 year survival was 42.6%. The main toxicities recorded were haematological. Grade 3 and 4 neutropenia were observed in 16 patients (29.1%). Nausea, vomiting and fatigue were the major non-haematological toxicities reported. Among the symptoms recorded by the patients on VAS scales (appetite, fatigue, pain, cough, dyspnea, haemoptysis), except anorexia, all symptoms were improved during the combination therapy and in the consolidation phase. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that the efficacy of the cisplatin/oral vinorelbine combination in NSCLC is comparable to cisplatin/I.V. vinorelbine. This study also suggests that consolidation therapy with vinorelbine alone may probably prolong the efficacy of the combination regimen. The convenience offered to patients by an oral form of vinorelbine is a definite asset for consolidation therapy.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2004

Evaluation of a soft atherosclerotic lesion in the rabbit aorta by an invasive IVUS method versus a non-invasive MRI technology.

The intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) modality has rapidly gained acceptance for the measurement of arterial plaque thickness and for anatomical characterization. In view, however, of the growing interest in the direct assessment of plaque size after therapeutic modalities directly reducing plaque burden, a non-invasive method such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be of help for repeated evaluations. The two methods were compared directly on a focal plaque developed at the abdominal aortic level by a combination of local electric lesion followed by a hypercholesterolemic diet. The plaque was fully characterized histopathologically at intervals up to 120 days from lesion induction, and maximal plaque formation was detected at 90 days from electrical injury. Plaques could be well assessed by IVUS at each time point analyzed and data correlated very well to histopathologic findings (r = 0.969, P = 0.0014). The MRI technology provided reliable determinations only at 90 days after lesion induction, i.e. at maximal plaque formation, with excellent correspondence to IVUS determinations (r = 0.989, P = 0.0111). Altogether these findings indicate that the non-invasive MRI technology, when applied to the analysis of arterial plaques of adequate size, can be used successfully for plaque determination, with results comparable to the invasive IVUS technique.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2004

Radiofrequency thermal ablation of 69 lung neoplasms.

Radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFA) is a new, minimally invasive technique offered in the treatment of various neoplasms. RFA produces ionic agitation within the area to be treated, resulting in the heating of neoplastic tissue using a radiofrequency generator. Well defined areas of coagulative necrosis are formed, thereby destroying the tumor. Percutaneous CT-guided RFA was performed in 34 patients with 69 lung neoplasms. Six patients were affected by primary Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), and 28 patients presented with metastatic lung nodules originating in various solid tumors. Patients were considered ineligible for surgery for the following reasons: medical comorbidities; technical reasons; severe respiratory insufficiency; refusal of surgery. Adequacy of treatment was assessed by CT-Scan and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) with gadolinium. A median follow-up of 9 months (3-25 months) resulted in 30 patients evaluable for response with a total of 63 nodules to be treated, 58 of which achieved complete necrotic response. Relapse occurred in 5/63 treated nodules. In 2 of these patients, relapse occurred exclusively in the treated nodules, whereas in the other 3 patients, relapse occurred in the treated nodules as well as at distant sites. 9 patients are alive and disease free. Pneumothorax requiring pleural drainage was the main complication, observed in 16% of the treatment sessions. Lung RFA has shown itself to be a safe and feasible option in the treatment of lung neoplasms in patients otherwise ineligible for surgery. The high rate of complete responses obtained in our study (92%) suggests that further investigation of lung RFA, combined with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy is warranted with the objective of improving local disease control and survival rates.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Rationale for the use of gemcitabine in breast cancer (Review).

Many active cytotoxic drugs and several regimens exist for breast cancer therapy. However, these conventional treatments have not changed the outcome of patients with locally advanced and metastatic disease. As a consequence, the dynamic balance between chemotherapy-induced side effects and benefits attributable to relief of cancer-related symptoms must be carefully considered in this setting. Gemcitabine is a pyrimidine nucleoside antimetabolite that has shown activity in a variety of solid tumors, a good toxicity profile, and non-overlapping toxicity with other chemotherapeutic drugs. As a single agent, gemcitabine yields response rates ranging from 14 to 37% as first-line treatment for advanced breast cancer and 12-30% as salvage therapy for patients previously treated with anthracycline and/or taxane treatment. Combined with vinorelbine, platinum, anthracyclines, and taxanes as doublets or triplets, response rates of 50 to 80% have been reported in phase II clinical studies. Gemcitabine in combination with anthracyclines and taxanes has been evaluated in the neoadjuvant setting in patients with early-stage breast cancer with interesting clinical and pathological response rates. Preliminary results of gemcitabine in combination with the biologic agent, trastuzumab, are encouraging. Phase III trials of gemcitabine combinations compared to standard regimens are ongoing with the aim to assess the independent contribution of gemcitabine.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed2003

Irinotecan plus leucovorin-modulated 5-fluorouracil I.V. bolus every other week may be a suitable therapeutic option also for elderly patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma.

The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of biweekly irinotecan plus leucovorin-modulated 5-fluorouracil i.v. bolus in metastatic colorectal carcinoma according to the age of patients. For this purpose, we have analysed 108 patients randomly allocated to receive irinotecan 200 mg m(-2) i.v. (1-h infusion) on day 1, and L-leucovorin 250 mg m(-2) i.v. (1-h infusion) plus 5-fluorouracil 850 mg m(-2) i.v. bolus on day 2 every 2 weeks (IRIFAFU) in our previous SICOG 9801 trial. According to age, patients were retrospectively divided into three groups: younger (</=54 years, n=37), middle-aged (55-69 years, n=64), and elderly (>/=70 years, n=17). Apart from gender, pretreatment characteristics were well balanced across the three groups. WHO grade >/=3 neutropenia and diarrhoea affected on the whole 46 and 16 patients, respectively, without any significant difference according to age-grouping. Patients aged </=54 years stayed on therapy for a longer time (median 24 vs 14-15 weeks), and received more cycles (median 9 vs 7), than the older ones. Only one patient in the young group withdrew consent to therapy as opposed to four patients each in the aged and elderly one. Response rate was 38% for younger patients, 34% for aged, and 35% for the elderly ones. Median time to progression was 7.4, 8.0, and 5.3 months, and median survival time was 13.4, 15.3, and 13.9 months, respectively. We conclude that IRIFAFU given every other week may represent a suitable therapeutic option also for elderly patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2003

Phase I/II study of gemcitabine plus mitoxantrone as salvage chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer.

The purpose of this study was to determine the maximum-tolerated dose of gemcitabine plus mitoxantrone in women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and to evaluate activity and toxicity of this combination in a phase II trial. Sixty-three patients with MBC, previously treated with chemotherapy including anthracycline and/or taxanes, were treated with mitoxantrone 10 or 12 mg m(-2) intravenously on day 1 plus gemcitabine in escalating doses from 600 to 1200 mg m(-2) intravenously on days 1 and 8, every 3 weeks. In phase I, on 23 patients entered on study, dose-limiting toxicity occurred at the dosage of 1200 mg m(-2) gemcitabine and 10 mg m(-2) mitoxantrone, with three out of five patients developing grade 4 neutropenia. In phase II, with gemcitabine administered at 1000 mg m(-2) and mitoxantrone at 10 mg m(-2), 12 (30%) out of 40 assessable patients responded, even if no complete response was obtained. Moreover, stable disease was observed in eight (20%) patients. The median time to treatment failure was 22 weeks (range, 2-33), and median survival was 42 weeks (range, 2-92). Grade 3 and 4 neutropenia were observed in 12 (30%) and one (2.5%) cases respectively; grade 3 thrombocytopenia was observed in two patients (5%), grade 2 mucositis in two patients (5%), grade 3 anaemia in two patients (5%), grade 3 alopecia in one patient (2.5%) and asymptomatic cardiotoxicity in three patients (8%), respectively. In conclusion, the doses of 10 mg m(-2) (day 1) for mitoxantrone and 1000 mg m(-2) for gemcitabine (days 1-8) every 3 weeks resulted active and safe in MBC. Further investigations in less heavily pretreated patients are warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Unusual response to second-line single-agent gemcitabine in locally advanced primary leiomyosarcoma of the lung: a case report.

Primary leiomyosarcomas (LMSs) of the lung are extremely rare malignancies that have been the subject of single or small series of case reports. Today, the gold standard of treatment in patients with locally advanced and metastatic disease includes one of the many possible regimens containing an anthracycline and/or ifosfamide. Few chemotherapy agents are active in the second-line setting. In particular, gemcitabine is considered quite ineffective in the treatment of first- as well as second-line chemotherapy of soft tissue sarcoma and responses to this agent are seldom reported. In this paper, we report a single patient with primary LMS of the lung previously treated with a combination of epirubicin and ifosfamide. The patient responded to second-line chemotherapy with gemcitabine 1250 mg/m2 given as a 30-minute infusion on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle and showed an 8-month response duration and negligible toxicity. Gemcitabine may represent an alternative to the best supportive care in patients affected with soft tissue sarcoma who fail first-line chemotherapy.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗