A phase II study of crisnatol mesylate in patients with ovarian carcinoma.

Fourteen patients with advanced ovarian cancer received a 72 hour infusion of a new DNA intercalator, crisnatol mesylate, administered intravenously. There was no evidence of antitumor efficacy. A syndrome of nausea and vomiting associated with vertigo, dizziness and ataxia was observed in nearly all patients. Two of the patients developed severe CNS toxicity manifested in one by a grand-mal seizure and in the other by peripheral neuropathy. Further explorations into the potential efficacy of crisnatol mesylate administered intraperitoneally are underway.