CISPLATIN AND ETOPOSIDE COMBINATION CHEMOTHERAPY FOR LOCALLY ADVANCEDOR METASTATIC THYMOMA - A PHASE-II STUDY OF THE -ORGANIZATION-FOR-RESEARCH-AND-TREATMENT-OF-CANCER LUNG-CANCER COOPERATIVE GROUP

Background: Thymomas are rare neoplasms of the mediastinum, The role o f chemotherapy in advanced thymomas is not fully established, Patients and Methods: In the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Lung Cancer Cooperative Group, 16 patients with recu rrent or metastatic malignant thymoma were entered over 6 years onto a study of combination chemotherapy that consisted of cisplatin 60 mg/m (2) on day 1 and etoposide 120 mg/m(2) on days 1, 2, and 3, every 3 we eks. Results: A median of six courses per patient was administered. Ma in side effects of treatment were leukopenia, nausea and vomiting, and alopecia, Five complete responses and four partial responses were obt ained, with a median response duration of 3.4 years. The median progre ssion-free survival and survival times were 2.2 years and 4.3 years, r espectively, with a median follow-up duration of 7 years, Conclusion: The combination of cisplatin and etoposide is highly effective and wel l tolerated in advanced thymoma. The investigation of this combination in ct neoadjuvant setting in unresectable invasive thymoma is warrant ed.