Cancer Management and Research (Dec 2021)
Efficacy and Safety of Epirubicin Combined with Temozolomide for Treatment of Advanced Leiomyosarcoma
Abstract
Huijing Tan,1 Lijie Zuo,1,2 Shutao Ma,1 Dingyuan Wang,3 Rui Li,1,2 Yiqi Yang,1,2 Weili Liu,1,2 Yihebali Chi1 1Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, People’s Republic of China; 2Beijing Chaoyang Sanhuan Cancer Hospital, Beijing, 100021, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Breast Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yihebali ChiDepartment of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 17 South Panjiayuan Lane, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100021, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +8613911075626Email [email protected]: Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) accounts for 24% of all soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) and this STS subtype has high metastatic potential. Previous studies indicated the best median progression-free survival (mPFS) time was 9.2 months and the best overall response rate (ORR) was 30.9%. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of epirubicin combined with temozolomide (EPI-TMZ) for treatment of advanced LMS.Methods: This was a retrospective review of the records of patients with advanced LMS at the National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. All patients initiated EPI-TMZ treatment between January 2018 and December 2020.Results: We examined 15 patients who received EPI-TMZ for LMS. This was a first-line treatment in 6 patients, a second- or third-line treatment in 7 patients, and a fourth-line treatment in 2 patients. At the time of data cutoff (April 25, 2021), the median PFS was 10 months, 1 patient had clinical complete response (cCR), 7 had partial response (PR), and 7 had stable disease (SD). The overall response rate (ORR) was 53.3% (8/15) and the disease control rate (DCR) was 100.0% (15/15). The most common treatment-related adverse effects were leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and oral mucositis. One patient had severe adverse effect (febrile neutropenia), but there were no treatment-related deaths.Conclusion: EPI-TMZ is potentially effective for treatment of advanced LMS, and the adverse effects appear tolerable. EPI-TMZ provided better outcomes than reported in previous studies of other treatments for advanced LMS.Keywords: epirubicin, temozolomide, advanced leiomyosarcoma, chemotherapy
