Amelioration of disease progression in advanced stage IV malignant melanoma with trofostamide

Background and Objective. Stage IV melanoma patients with progressive disea se are a therapeutic challenge for every dermatologist. We wondered whether a mild oral chemotherapy with trofosfamide would ameliorate disease progre ssion in these patients. Patients/Methods. 40 patients with melanoma (stage IV disease) were treated with 100 mg/day of trofosfamide for 6 months. All patients showed a progre ssive disease prior to this intervention. Results. One patient experienced a partial remission, 25 patients showed a stable disease. Only 11 patients were progressive under trofosfamide treatm ent. 7 patients died during the study period. Conclusions. Therapy with trofosfamide seems to ameliorate disease progress ion in stage IV patients.