Isolated limb infusion chemotherapy with or without hemofiltration for recurrent limb melanoma

AIM: To better define the efficacy and the safety of intra-arterial infusion performed with or without hemofiltration for recurrent limb melanoma. METHODS: Patients with the following characteristics were included in the study: recurrent limb melanoma not indicated for surgical resection, measurable disease in the extremity, > 18 years, performances status(Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) was 0-1 and life expectancy of at least 6 mo. Twenty nine consecutive patients were enrolled in the study. Patients underwent fluoroscopic placement of angiographic arterial and venous catheters to infuse the drug in the artery [isolated limb infusion(ILI)], and to stop the out flow(venous). Melphalan was rapidly infused into the isolated limb via the arterial catheter after the inflation of venous balloon catheter. Then the circulation of the limb was completely blocked with a pneumatic cuff at the root of the limb. Haemofiltration(HF) was available only in the main center, and was performed with an extracorporeal perfusion system, in order to reduce high systemic toxic peaks of drug.RESULTS: Thirty seven ILI were done in 29 cases(31 ILI-HF and 6 ILI) between 2001 and 2014 at Ancona and Pesaro Hospitals, Italy. Clinical outcomes were monitored 30 d after treatment. Eleven patients(38%) received infusion of melphalan alone, 7(24%) melphalan associated to mitomicin C and 7(24%) melphalan associated to cisplatin, the remaining 4 were treated with cisplatin, melphalan and epirubicin or cisplatin and mitomicin C. The overall response rate was 66%, in particular, 3 patients(10%) were complete responders and 16(56%) were partial responders; whereas 7 patients(24%) had stable disease, and 3(10%) showed progressive disease. Limb toxicity was assessed adopting Wieberdink scale, with evidence of 90% of low grade(I and II) toxicity.CONCLUSION: ILI-HF and ILI are effective and safe treatments for recurrent non-resectable limb melanoma. They present evidence of favorable clinical benefit and is effective in delaying progression.

Cetuximab plus irinotecan in pretreated metastatic colorectal cancer patients:The ELSIE study

AIM:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of cetuxim-ab plus irinotecan in irinotecan-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients from South-East Asia and Australia. METHODS:In this open-label,phase Ⅱ study,the main eligibility criteria were epidermal growth factor receptor-positive mCRC with progressive disease within 3 mo of an irinotecan-based regimen as the most recent chemotherapy. Patients received cetuximab 400 mg/m2 initially,then 250 mg/m2 every week,with the same regimen of irinotecan on which the patients had progressed (4 pre-defined regim-ens allowed). The prim-ary objective was evaluation of progression-free survival (PFS) at 12 wk. Secondary objectives included a further investigation of PFS,and an assessment of the overall response rate (ORR),duration of response,time to treatment failure (TTF),overall survival and the safety profile. RESULTS:One hundred and twenty nine patients were enrolled from-25 centers in the Asia-Pacific region and of these 123 received cetuximab plus irinotecan. The most common recent irinotecan regimen used was 180 mg/m2 every 2 wk which had been used in 93 patients (75.6%). The PFS rate at 12 wk was 50% (95% confidence interval (CI,41-59) and m-edian PFS tim-e was 12.1 wk (95% CI:9.7-17.7). The ORR was 13.8% (95% CI:8.3-21.2) and disease control rate was 49.6% (95% CI:40.5-58.8). Median duration of response was 31.1 wk (95% CI:18.0-42.6) and median overall survival was 9.5 mo (95% CI,7.5-11.7). The median TTF was 11.7 wk (95% CI:9.1-17.4). Treatment was generally well tolerated. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were diarrhea (13.8%),neutropenia (8.9%),rash (5.7%) and vomiting (5.7%).CONCLUSION:In patients from Asia and Australia,this study confirm-s the activity and safety of cetuxim-ab plus irinotecan observed in previous studies in Europe and South America.