Alternating combination chemotherapy of advanced soft tissue sarcomas in adults

The possibility of improving treatment results using an alternating combination chemotherapy was explored in 40 evaluable patients with advanced soft tissue sarcomas. Treatment regimen consisted of adriamycin and DTIC alternating with vincristine, actinomycin D, and cyclophosphamide. Four patients achieved a complete response and eight achieved a partial response, with an overall response rate of 30%. The median duration of response was 14 months. The median survival time was 28 months for responders compared with 7 months for nonresponders (p = 0.001). Toxicity was predominantly limited to nausea, vomiting, and myelosuppression. Although this alternating regimen failed to improve response rates over other combinations, survival times observed in the present study should provide impetus to evaluate further the concept of sequential noncross-resistant combinations.