Gemcitabine in pre-treated advanced renal carcinoma: a feasibility study

Eigtheen patients affected by metastatic renal cell carcinoma, 16 which wer e assesable, were treated with 1 g/m(2) of Gemcitabine (GCB) on days 1, 8 a nd 15 of a 28-day treatment cycle up to a maximun of ten cycles. All patien ts in neoplastic progression were treated with chemo- and immunotherapy (5 FU, IL-2, IFN alpha d 13-cis-retinoic acid.) Out of the 16 assessable patie nts, 5/16 (31%) showed overall response (ICR, 4 PR), 5 (31%) stable disease (SD) and 6 (38%) progression of disease (PD). Toxicity was limited to WHO grades only, primarily hematological.