Ifosfamide and mesna in the treatment of malignant disease mesna as urothelial protector.

One hundred and forty-six patients with advanced malignant disease were treated with 6 different dosage schedules of ifosfamide (IFX). Mesna was used as urothelial protector. With mesna, urothelial toxicity was moderate, and single doses of up to 7 g/m2 could be administered without intolerable urotoxicity. Leukopenia was the dose-limiting factor in this study. Unexpected pulmonary edema occurred in 3 patients. Therapeutic results were disappointing. A malignancy identified in this study that warrants further investigation with IFX and mesna, is malignant mesothelioma.