Phase II trial of cisplatin and etoposide in patients with metastatic melanoma

Fourteen patients with metastatic melanoma were treated with cisplatin and etoposide by bolus intravenous infusion daily for 5 consecutive days each month. All patients were evaluable for toxicity and twelve for response. Eight patients were treated with cisplatin 20 mg/m2 and etoposide 100 mg/m2 daily. Because of excessive myelosuppression, the daily dose of etoposide was reduced to 75 mg/m2 in the remaining six patients. There were no major responses among 12 evaluable patients (major response rate less than or equal to 24% with 95% confidence). The median time to progression was one month. One patient with a liver metastasis had a minor response lasting 6+ months. The combination of cisplatin and etoposide in these doses and schedule lacked sufficient clinical efficacy in the treatment of metastatic melanoma.