Cisplatin and adriamycin combination chemotherapy for uterine stromal sarcomas and mixed mesodermal tumors

Twenty-eight patients with a uterine stromal sarcoma or mixed mesodermal tumor were treated with cisplatin 100 mg/m2 and Adriamycin 45-60 mg/m2, given with intravenous hydration every 3 to 4 weeks. Group I consists of 11 patients with measurable disease following initial surgery or with a recurrence. Eight of the eleven evaluable patients with measurable disease had a response (73%), and three of these patients have had a negative second-look procedure, and two are alive and disease free more than 24 months after initiation of treatment. Group II consists of 17 patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy after primary surgery. The patients were selected for adjuvant therapy based on previous established poor prognostic features. Of the 17 patients in group II, 14 had invasion of the outer one-third of the myometrium and the other three had invasion to the middle one-third. Seven had documented positive pelvic and/or periaortic lymph nodes and five had positive peritoneal washings. With a median follow-up of 34 months, there have been only four recurrences in group II. Two of the recurrences occurred in patients who discontinued therapy after only two cycles of chemotherapy. There is a projected 5-year survival of 75% in these high-risk patients. Of the seven patients with documented nodal involvement, one patient died with a recurrence at 23 months, one patient died from a perforated diverticulum, and the other five are alive and disease free with a median follow-up of 36 months (34-90 months). Two patients with multiple positive nodes are disease free at more than 5 years. Combination chemotherapy with cisplatin and Adriamycin has a high response rate with advanced measurable disease and improves survival in high-risk patients who receive it as adjuvant therapy.