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Updated: Jun 5, 2026
Establishment of a Primary Culture of Patient-derived Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Published on: April 11, 2018
Treatment with trabectedin: should be indicated to all soft tissue sarcoma histotypes?
A Grivas1, D T Trafalis, E Thanopoulou
1Department of Medical Oncology -A, Metaxa Cancer Hospital, Piraeus, Greece.
Abstract:
Trabectedin is a novel antineoplastic agent approved as monotherapy in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS) after failure of standard therapy with anthracyclines or ifosfamide, or patients who are unsuited to receive these agents. Some histotypes of STSs appear to be particularly sensitive to trabectedin, but the sensitivity of some rare STSs histological subtypes to the drug is rather unknown. We report on two patients suffering from infrequent subtypes of STSs, fibrosarcoma and epithelioid sarcoma, who were treated with trabectedin. In these cases the treatment completely failed, and right after the first cycle of trabectedin administration an unusually rapid tumor growth and dissemination was documented. Of note, one of the patients showed objective response to MVIP chemotherapy (methotrexate, etoposide, ifosfamide and cisplatin), after trabectedin failure. Trabectedin activity against several subtypes has not been studied or well-documented due to the rarity and numerous histotypes of STSs. Case studies aiming at the individualization of treatment options against specific STS subtypes will further justify the usage of this agent in clinical practice.
Insights
Trabectedin showed limited efficacy in rare soft tissue sarcoma subtypes, fibrosarcoma and epithelioid sarcoma. In two patients, rapid tumor progression occurred after trabectedin treatment, highlighting the need for subtype-specific treatment strategies.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Trabectedin is an antineoplastic agent for advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS).
- Its efficacy in rare STS histotypes remains largely unknown.
- Standard therapies include anthracyclines and ifosfamide.
Observation:
- This report details two patients with rare STS subtypes, fibrosarcoma and epithelioid sarcoma, treated with trabectedin.
- Both patients experienced treatment failure with trabectedin.
- Unusually rapid tumor growth and dissemination were observed after the first trabectedin cycle in both cases.
Findings:
- Trabectedin treatment failed in patients with fibrosarcoma and epithelioid sarcoma.
- Rapid tumor progression was documented following trabectedin administration in these rare STS subtypes.
- One patient responded to subsequent MVIP chemotherapy (methotrexate, etoposide, ifosfamide, cisplatin) after trabectedin failure.
Implications:
- Case studies on rare STS subtypes are crucial for understanding trabectedin's specific activity.
- Individualized treatment strategies based on STS histology are necessary.
- Further research is needed to define trabectedin's role in managing diverse STS subtypes.
