Practical guidelines for the management of biochemotherapy-related toxicity in melanoma

Clin Cancer Res. 2001 Sep;7(9):2611-9.

Abstract

The combination of cisplatin-based chemotherapy with interleukin 2 (IL-2) and IFN-alpha, referred to as biochemotherapy or chemoimmunotherapy, has shown promising antitumor activity in patients with metastatic melanoma. Phase II studies have reported overall response rates ranging from 40 to 60%, with durable complete remissions in approximately 10% of the patients. Toxicity, however, is often severe and can be life-threatening if the healthcare team is not familiar with toxicity management. In this report, we briefly describe the clinical results of the most effective biochemotherapy regimens and provide a detailed description and management of the most common toxic effects, with emphasis on the concurrent biochemotherapy program initially developed at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and currently being tested in a slightly modified version in two large-scale Intergroup Phase III trials.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / adverse effects
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use*
  • Cisplatin / administration & dosage
  • Cisplatin / adverse effects
  • Edema / chemically induced
  • Erythema / chemically induced
  • Humans
  • Interferon-alpha / administration & dosage
  • Interferon-alpha / adverse effects
  • Interleukin-2 / administration & dosage
  • Interleukin-2 / adverse effects
  • Melanoma / drug therapy*
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic*
  • Skin Neoplasms / drug therapy*

Substances

  • Interferon-alpha
  • Interleukin-2
  • Cisplatin