Biochemotherapy in patients with metastatic anorectal mucosal melanoma

• Published in: Cancer Vol. 100; no. 7; pp. 1478 - 1483
• Main Authors: Kim, Kevin B., Sanguino, Angela M., Hodges, Cynthia, Papadopoulos, Nicholas E., Eton, Omar, Camacho, Luis H., Broemeling, Lyle D., Johnson, Marcella M., Ballo, Matthew T., Ross, Merrick I., Gershenwald, Jeffrey E., Lee, Jeffrey E., Mansfield, Paul F., Prieto, Victor G., Bedikian, Agop Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.04.2004; Wiley-Liss
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; anorectal; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Anus Neoplasms - drug therapy; Anus Neoplasms - pathology; biochemotherapy; Biological and medical sciences; Cisplatin - administration & dosage; Dermatology; Female; Humans; Interferon-alpha - administration & dosage; Interferon-alpha - therapeutic use; Male; Medical sciences; melanoma; Melanoma - drug therapy; Melanoma - mortality; Melanoma - secondary; metastatic; Middle Aged; mucosal; Recombinant Proteins; Survival Analysis; Treatment Outcome; Tumors of the skin and soft tissue. Premalignant lesions; Vinblastine - administration & dosage; Human; Mucosa; Malignant melanoma; melanoma; Anorectal; Metastatic; Malignant tumor; Metastasis; biochemotherapy; mucosal
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/cncr.20113

BACKGROUND Patients with metastatic anorectal melanoma generally have an unfavorable prognosis, but no effective systemic therapy has been reported. METHODS The authors retrospectively evaluated the medical records of all patients with metastatic anorectal melanoma treated with biochemotherapy between January 1991 and December 2001 at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX). RESULTS The search yielded 18 patients. Of these patients, 14 had undergone treatment with cisplatin (CDDP), vinblastine (VB), dacarbazine (DTIC), interferon alpha‐2b (IFN), and interleukin 2 (IL‐2); 2 had undergone treatment with CDDP, VB, DTIC, and IFN; 1 had undergone treatment with CDDP, IFN, and IL‐2; and 1 had undergone treatment with CDDP, VB, temozolomide, IFN, and IL‐2. All IL‐2 treatments were administered intravenously. The median follow‐up time was 12.2 months (range, 3.5–43.7 months). Eight patients (44%) had major responses, including two (11%) complete responses (CRs). Three patients were lost to follow‐up evaluation after the completion of treatment. The median time to progression among the 15 remaining patients was 6.2 months. Four patients, including 1 with a CR, were alive at their last documented follow‐up visits (survival: 14.0, 20.7, 31.3, and 43.7 months, respectively). The median overall survival was 12.2 months. Among 13 patients who received biochemotherapy as first‐line systemic therapy, 6 patients (46%) had major responses, including two (15%) CRs. The median time to progression for this group was 6.2 months, and the median overall survival was 12.9 months. CONCLUSIONS Biochemotherapy had substantial activity against metastatic anorectal melanoma and should be considered for use in the treatment of metastatic disease from primary anorectal melanoma. Cancer 2004;100:1478–83. © 2004 American Cancer Society. Patients with metastatic anorectal melanoma generally have an unfavorable prognosis, but no effective systemic therapy has been reported. The current retrospective study demonstrated that biochemotherapy has significant clinical efficacy against metastatic anorectal melanoma.