A phase II trial of m-AMSA in the treatment of advanced gynecologic malignancies

Thirty-two patients with advanced gynecologic malignancies were treated with m-AMSA, 120 mg/m2 intravenously every 3 weeks. Seventeen patients with advanced carcinoma of the cervix who were treated with m-AMSA had a median performance status (CALGB scale) of 2. There were two partial responses (PR) (14%) in 16 evaluable patients. The median duration of survival was 76 days following the initiation of m-AMSA treatment. In ovarian carcinoma, none of the nine evaluable patients who were treated responded. One PR occurred among four treated patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma. Toxicity was limited to myelosuppression (WBC greater than 2500/micrograms in 29/77 courses, WBC greater than 1500/micrograms in 16/77 courses, platelets greater than 100,000/micrograms in 10/77 courses, and drug-induced anemia in 7/77 courses) and mild to moderate nausea and vomiting (10/31 patients). Three patients required hospitalization for fever and granulocytopenia, and one patient died from drug-induced sepsis. Although toxicity was acceptable in this group of heavily pretreated patients, m-AMSA has limited activity in patients with advanced carcinoma of the cervix and no apparent activity in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian carcinomas. Continued trials are indicated in patients with adenocarcinoma of the endometrium.