Amrubicin for the treatment of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gastrointestinal tract: a retrospective analysis of five cases

作者：Asayama Masako; Fuse Nozomu^*; Yoshino Takayuki; Yano Tomonori; Tahara Makoto; Doi Toshihiko; Fujii Satoshi; Ohtsu Atsushi

来源：Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, 2011, 68(5): 1325-1330.

DOI：10.1007/s00280-011-1619-7

• Gastrointestinal tract
• Small-cell carcinoma
• Neuroendocrine carcinoma
• Chemotherapy
• Amrubicin

A standard chemotherapy regimen for neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gastrointestinal tract (GI-NEC) has not been established. Treatment usually consists of platinum doublets, consistent with the standard treatment for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), with which it shares clinicopathological similarities. Here, we retrospectively examined responses of five GI-NEC patients treated with amrubicin chloride (AMR) which has shown activity against SCLC as salvage therapy.
Five patients with histologically proven unresectable GI-NEC in whom previous chemotherapy regimens had failed were treated with AMR, a synthetic anthracycline with potent topoisomerase II inhibition.
Primary tumors were located in the esophagus in three patients, anus in one, and colon in one. AMR was administered intravenously at 35-40 mg/m(2) on days 1-3 every 3 weeks for a median of six treatment cycles (range, 2-8). Although all patients had received one to four previous chemotherapy regimens, including cisplatin doublets, three of five achieved objective responses to AMR. All three had esophageal NEC in relapse following combination treatment with irinotecan plus cisplatin. The most common adverse events of a parts per thousand yen grade 3 were neutropenia (75%), anemia (60%), thrombocytopenia (20%), and febrile neutropenia (20%).
Single-agent AMR achieved objective responses in three of five patients with GI-NEC. This compound may be a candidate for prospective evaluation in a larger series.

• 出版日期2011-11