Combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin as second-line therapy for patients with metastatic melanoma

Patients with metastatic melanoma (MM) have very few therapy options. Based on reports of responses to paclitaxel and carboplatin (PC), 31 patients with MM were treated with PC.

Data regarding patients treated with PC were abstracted from medical records. Clinical outcomes as determined by the treating oncologist were used for this analysis. Response determination was retrospectively confirmed using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST).

Thirty-one patients with MM were treated with PC. Patients had a median of 2 previous therapies, with the majority (29; 94%) having failed prior temozolomide (TMZ) or dacarbazine (DTIC) therapy. The most commonly used regimen was weekly paclitaxel (at a dose of 100 mg/m(2)) and carboplatin (area under the curve 2) administered on Days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle. An objective partial response was noted in 8 patients (26%) with an additional 6 patients (19%) having stable disease; therefore, a clinical benefit was noted in 45% of those patients treated. The median time to disease progression for the entire group was 3 months (range, 0-7 mos), with a median overall survival of 7.8 months (range, 1-14 mos). The clinical benefit derived by the 14 patients, which lasted for a median of 5.7 months (range, 2.5-7.3 mos), was considered to be clinically significant. At the time of last follow-up, eight patients continued to receive PC therapy.

The PC combination appears to have definite and clinically meaningful activity when used as second-line therapy after TMZ or DTIC. Further evaluation of this regimen, alone or as a 'backbone' for other agents, needs to be considered.