[Phase II study of Vindesine in patients with hematological malignancy]

At Saitama Cancer Center a Phase II study of Vindesine was carried out in 18 patients with hematological malignancy being refractory to standard chemotherapies. Vindesine (VDS) was given weekly at a dose of 3 mg/m2 as single-agent chemotherapy. One cytoreduction effect (CE) in 5 patients with acute lympho blastic leukemia, two CEs in 2 patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia, one PR and one CE in 4 patients with CML/BC, three PRs in 3 patients with diffuse non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of large cell type, one CR in 2 patients with lymphoblastic lymphoma and one PR in 2 patients with Burkitt's lymphoma were obtained. VDS was discontinued in two patients because of neurologic toxicities such as incontinence of urine, abdominal distension, and severe constipation.