Epirubicin is not Superior to Doxorubicin in the Treatment of Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcomas. The Experience of the EORTC Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group
Ole S. Nielsen,
Per Dombernowsky,
Henning Mouridsen,
Søren Daugaard,
Martine Van Glabbeke,
Anne Kirkpatrick,
Jaap Verweij
Affiliations
Ole S. Nielsen
Centre for Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
Per Dombernowsky
Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
Henning Mouridsen
The Finsen Center, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
Søren Daugaard
The Laboratory Center, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
Martine Van Glabbeke
EORTC Data Centre, Brussels, Belgium and Department of Medical Oncology, The Netherlands
Anne Kirkpatrick
EORTC Data Centre, Brussels, Belgium and Department of Medical Oncology, The Netherlands
Jaap Verweij
Rotterdam Cancer Institute (Daniel den Hoed Kliniek) and University Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Purpose. Doxorubicin (dox) still appears to be one of the most active drugs in the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas. However, treatment duration is limited due to cumulative cardiotoxicity. A number of small studies from single institutions have suggested activity of other analogues. In two studies the EORTC STBSG tested whether epirubicin (epi) is an alternative to standard dose dox in the treatment of chemonaive patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma. The present report gives the final results of these studies.
