[Phase-II-study with vindesine (desacetyl-vinblastine-amide-sulfate) in advanced malignant diseases]

53 patients with advanced and measurable cancerr were treated with vindesine in doses of 3 mg/m2 (pretreated) and 4 mg/m2 (non pretreated) i.v. once weekly. 48 patients are evaluable for response: of 14 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, 1 partial remission (PR), 1 minor response (MR) and 1 no change (NC) were observed. In 5 patients with large cell carcinoma of the lung: 1 NC. In 3 with adenocarcinoma of the lung: 1 MR. One patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma had progressive disease. Stable disease was observed in a patient with carcinoma of the tongue and in a patient with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. Four patients with colorectal carcinoma had progressive disease. One MR was observed in a patient with breast cancer, while all of the other 3 patients had progressive disease. One carcinoma of the penis was stable. One MR was observed in a patient with Hodgkin's disease. One PR was observed in a case with no-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A patient with acute leukemia had progressive disease. Among 9 patients with malignant melanoma, 3 had an MR and 1 patient had stable disease. A patient with fibrosarcoma had progressive disease. Observed toxicity included leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, paresthesias, constipation, jaw pain, nausea, stomatitis, alopecia, loss of taste, pruritus and skin rash, weakness and fatigue.