Melphalan, 5-fluorouracil, and medroxyprogesterone acetate in metastatic endometrial carcinoma

Fifty consecutive patients with recurrent and metastatic endometrial carcinoma were treated with melphalan, 5-fluorouracil, and medroxyprogesterone acetate with or without tamoxifen as first-line chemotherapy. The objective response rate was 48%, with 20% complete responses. The estimated median progression-free survival time was only five months (0.5 to 65 months) with estimated two- and five-year progression-free survival rates of 16 and 13%, respectively. The estimated median progression-free survival time was 24 months for complete responders; the progression-free survival times were significantly longer than the survival times (median = four months) for all other patients (P = .0002). Whether or not the addition of cytotoxic chemotherapy to progesterone hormonal therapy for metastatic endometrial carcinoma lengthens survival time is still open to question.