Alternatives to CYVADIC combination therapy of soft tissue sarcomas.

The CYVADIC combination has been the preferred treatment for soft tissue sarcomas for the last 10 years. Other combination therapies are necessary, because the remission rate achieved with CYVADIC is only 30%. Alternative therapies for these tumors are combinations including cis-platinum, ifosfamide, epipodophyllin, and high-dose methotrexate. Our therapeutic results with combinations of cis-platinum and ifosfamide are comparable to those achieved with CYVADIC. However, the side-effects, such as nausea, vomiting and fatigue, of cis-platinum used in the palliative treatment of these tumors are intolerable for many patients. A combination of adriamycin and ifosfamide, which leads to a higher remission rate of 44% and has lower toxicity than CYVADIC, is giving encouraging results.