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 combinations of therapy are necessary because the remission rate achieved with CYVADIC is only thirty per cent. Alternative therapies for these tumours are combinations including cis-platinum, ifosfamide, epipodophyllin and high-dose methotrexate. Our therapeutic results with combinations of cis-platinum and ifosfamide are comparable to CYVADIC. However, side-effects such as nausea, vomiting and fatigue due to cis-platinum in the palliative treatment of these tumours are intolerable for many patients. A combination of adriamycin and ifosfamide, which exhibits a higher remission rate of 44% and lower toxicity than CYVADIC, is giving encouraging results.