Ifosfamide, carboplatin and etoposide (ICE) as second-line regimen alone and in combination with regional hyperthermia is active in chemo-pre-treated advanced soft tissue sarcoma of adults

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of ICE (ifosfamide 1.5 gm(-2), carboplatin 100 mg m(-2) and etoposide 150 mg m(-2), days 1-4, q 28 days, G-CSF 5 mug kg(-1) starting from day 6) alone and in combination with regional hyperthermia (RHT) in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) refractory to previous standard doxorubicin-ifosfamide-based chemotherapy. Patients and methods: Twenty patients with advanced STS of different histological sub-types were treated with the ICE regimen with 13 patients receiving additional RHT. A median of four courses of ICE were administered with RHT on days 1 and 3 (60 min, T-max 42degreesC). Results: The objective response rate was 20%, with four partial responses ( all treated with hyperthermia). In addition, two patients showed mixed responses and five patients stable disease. After a median follow-up time of 15 months, median time to progression was 6 months. Progression free rate estimates were 60% and 45% at 3 and 6 months, respectively. Median overall survival for all patients was 14.6 months. Conclusion: These results suggest that ICE alone or combined with RHT shows activity as second-line therapy in doxorubicin-ifosfamide-refractory STS.