PACLITAXEL (TAXOL) IN PRETREATED, RELAPSED AND OR METASTATIC ADULT SOFT-TISSUE SARCOMAS (STS)/

Twelve patients suffering from recurrent or metastatic, previously tre ated, STS were given paclitaxel as a 3-hour infusion, with prophylacti c medication, in 3-week cycles, at two different dosages: 135 mg/m(2) or 175 mg/m(2) in patients pretreated with less than or equal to 2 or greater than or equal to 3 chemotherapy regimens, respectively. A tota l of 39 courses was given (median 3, range 2-5). Overall, treatment wa s relatively well tolerated, major toxicity consisting of grade 2-3 ne utropenia (33%); The adopted schedule was feasible in day-hospital set ting, with satisfactory patient compliance. Only a partial response wa s obtained (8%), lasting 4 months; six patients had stable disease and five progressed while on treatment. Our results suggest a lack of act ivity of paclitaxel in this tumor type. However, the very advanced sta ge of disease and the strong pretreatment in the evaluated series prob ably partially account for some of the resistance and such a poor resp onse rate. Further studies might be appropriate with paclitaxel, alone or in combination with other agents, on selected patients in less adv anced stage of disease.