Cost effective treatment of osteogenic sarcoma of the extremities

In an ongoing trial at our institute 10 patients of high grade osteogenic sarcoma of the extremities have been treated with preoperative chemotherapy including ifosfamide 2 mg/M2/day i.v. for 5 days, doxorubicin 20 mg/M2/day i.v. for 3 days and cisplatinum 120 mg/M2 i.v. on day 1 at 3-4 weeks interval for 2 courses followed by surgery. One patient refused surgery and further treatment. Pathological study of the 9 surgical specimens showed grade IV necrosis in 5, grade III necrosis in 2 and grade I & II necrosis in 2. Overall response rate (Grade III & IV) was 87.5%. The patients showing Grade III/IV response received a further 3 cycles of the same chemotherapy postoperatively. The patient who refused surgery is still alive at 30 months. Our followup ranges from 4-34 months. All patients developed myelosuppression and one patient died after 4th course of chemotherapy due to septicemia. We expect grade IV response to preoperative chemotherapy will be translated into longer disease free survival. Protocols followed in western countries are not practicable in Asian countries. Hence this new combination has been developed without compromising response rate.