Low toxicity with continuous infusion of high-dose bleomycin in poor prognostic testicular cancer

Bleomycin is a powerful antitumoral antibiotic whose utilization has been limited by pulmonary toxicity. At the Medical Oncology Department of the Hospital General de Mexico, SS, 17 patients with high-risk testicular cancer were treated with therapeutic regimens based on cisplatin and bleomycin in continuous infusion. The mean bleomycin dose was 813 mg. Adequate renal function was observed in all patients during and after chemotherapy. During a minimum 4-year follow-up period, no patient experienced pulmonary toxicity; 3 patients died due to tumoral progression. The remaining 14 patients are alive and none of them had shown x-ray abnormalities nor a significant reduction in pulmonary vital capacity (PVC) or carbon monoxide diffusion capacity (DLCO). Bleomycin in continuous infusion can be an appropriate alternative for reducing pulmonary toxic effects. Therefore, randomized controlled studies should be conducted in order to determine if this treatment regime could enhance the therapeutic index.