Efficacy of Gemcitabine-based Chemotherapy in Clear Cell Sarcoma of Soft Tissue

• Published in: Anticancer research Vol. 40; no. 12; pp. 7003 - 7007
• Main Authors: Cojocaru, Elena, Thway, Khin, Fisher, Cyril, Messiou, Christina, Zaidi, Shane, Miah, Aisha B, Benson, Charlotte, Gennatas, Spyridon, Huang, Paul, Jones, Robin L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Greece International Institute of Anticancer Research 01.12.2020
• Subjects: Adult; Anthracycline; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic - pharmacology; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic - therapeutic use; Chemotherapy; Deoxycytidine - analogs & derivatives; Deoxycytidine - pharmacology; Deoxycytidine - therapeutic use; Diagnosis; Female; Gemcitabine; Humans; Male; Melanoma; Metastases; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Patients; Radiation; Sarcoma; Sarcoma, Clear Cell - drug therapy; Soft Tissue Neoplasms - drug therapy; Soft tissues; Survival; Clear cell sarcoma; gemcitabine; chemotherapy; EWSR1 translocation
• ISSN: 0250-7005; 1791-7530
• DOI: 10.21873/anticanres.14725

Clear cell sarcoma (CCS) is an aggressive sarcoma subtype, resistant to conventional anthracycline-based chemotherapy and radiation. The diagnosis is often challenging due to similarities with malignant melanoma. We aimed to analyse the activity of gemcitabine-based chemotherapy in a cohort of patients with CCS treated at the Royal Marsden Hospital. Five patients with metastatic CCS received gemcitabine as first- or second-line systemic therapy. The median time-to-progression was 10 weeks. The median number of cycles of gemcitabine-based therapy was 3 (range=2-7 cycles). Median overall survival in our cohort was 66 months from the initial diagnosis but in the metastatic setting, the overall survival was reduced to 28 months. Gemcitabine-based therapy has modest activity in CCS. There remains a significant unmet medical need for novel, effective therapies for this disease.