Treatment of malignant mesothelioma with epirubicin and ifosfamide: a phase II cooperative study

From May 1988 to March 1990, 17 consecutive patients with histologically proven malignant mesothelioma were treated with epirubicin 75 mg/sqm i.v. on day 1 and ifosfamide 1.8 gr/sqm/day i.v. from day 1-5. Treatment was repeated every 3 weeks until progression. Fifty-three chemotherapy cycles were administered to the 17 patients treated (median, 3 cycles/patient). No complete responses, 1 partial response, 8 stable diseases and 8 progressions were noted. Toxocity was acceptable and no treatment-related deaths occurred. Actuarial median survival was 6 months. In this study, a combination of full doses of epirubicin and ifosfamide did not prove to be active in malignant mesothelioma.