[First phase in the clinical study of the antineoplastic antibiotic, carminomycin]

During the 1st stage of the clinical trials of karminomycin 92 patients with leukemia, solid tumors and lymphoma were treated with karminomycin. Two schemes for the antibiotic use were developed. The 1st scheme was a prolonged one with single doses of 10-15 mg (7.5 mg/m2) administered intravenously twice a week for 3 weeks, the course dose being 60-75 mg (34-45 mg/m2) with 4-week intervals between the courses. The course dose for the patients previously subjected to intensive chemotherapy did not exceed 50 mg (30 mg/m2). The 2nd scheme was a short one with single doses of 8-10 mg (5.5 mg/m2) administered intravenously every day for 5 days, the course dose being 40-50 mg (23-30 mg/m2) with 3-week intervals between the courses. Karminomycin induced in a number of patients a direct side effect, such as nausea, vomiting, asthenia, tachycardia, pain in the heart. In some patients leucopenia, thrombocitopenia, rare stomatitis, alopecia, lowered T peak in the chest curves of the cardiograms were observed after using the course dose.