Doxorubicin/Adriamycin Monotherapy or Plus Ifosfamide in First-Line Treatment for Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma: A Pooled Analysis of Randomized Trials

Systemic Therapy in Advanced Pleomorphic Liposarcoma: a Comprehensive Review

OPINION STATEMENT

The therapeutic approach of pleomorphic liposarcoma (PLPS), a rare high-grade subgroup of soft tissue sarcoma, is commonly extrapolated from the management of other LPS subtypes. Only published retrospective data on PLPS currently serve as a guide for oncologists without clear recommendations or specific guidelines. In the advanced setting, specific systemic therapy such as eribulin and trabectedin showed promising activity in comparison to conventional therapy (doxorubicin- and gemcitabine-based protocols), which currently remains the current standard of care at initial stages of the disease. The better understanding of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) pathophysiology and disease course has led to the development of adapted clinical trial designs for rare STS histotypes with specific treatment approach.

Prospective, Multicenter Phase II Trial of Non-Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin Combined with Ifosfamide in First-Line Treatment of Advanced/Metastatic Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Doxorubicin is a widely used anticancer agent as a first-line treatment for various tumor types, including sarcomas. Its use is hampered by adverse events, among which is the risk of dose dependence. The potential cardiotoxicity, which increases with higher doses, poses a significant challenge to its safe and effective application. To try to overcome these undesired effects, encapsulation of doxorubicin in liposomes has been proposed. Caelyx and Myocet are different formulations of pegylated (PLD) and non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (NPLD), respectively. Both PLD and NPLD have shown similar activity compared with free drugs but with reduced cardiotoxicity. While the hand-foot syndrome exhibits a high occurrence among patients treated with PLD, its frequency is notably reduced in those receiving NPLD. In this prospective, multicenter, one-stage, single-arm phase II trial, we assessed the combination of NPLD and ifosfamide as first-line treatment for advanced/metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Patients received six cycles of NPLD (50 mg/m2) on day 1 along with ifosfamide (3000 mg/m2 on days 1, 2, and 3 with equidose MESNA) administered every 3 weeks. The overall response rate, yielding 40% (95% CI: 0.29-0.51), resulted in statistical significance; the disease control rate stood at 81% (95% CI: 0.73-0.90), while only 16% (95% CI: 0.08-0.24) of patients experienced a progressive disease. These findings indicate that the combination of NPLD and ifosfamide yields a statistically significant response rate in advanced/metastatic STS with limited toxicity.

Novel-fosfamide monotherapy or in combination with doxorubicin versus doxorubicin alone in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma: A pooled analysis of randomized clinical trials

BACKGROUND

Novel-fosfamides (NFOs) belong to active metabolites of ifosfamide that bypass the generation of toxic byproducts. In this analysis, we aimed to comprehensively assess the benefits and risks of NFO monotherapy or in combination with doxorubicin (DOX) versus single-drug DOX in previously untreated patients with advanced soft-tissue sarcoma (ASTS).

METHODS

Online PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases were systematically searched on April 26, 2022. Objective response rate and disease control rate were primary outcomes. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and grade ≥ 3 treatment-related adverse events were secondary outcomes.

RESULTS

In all, 3 randomized clinical trials with a total of 1207 ASTS patients were eligible. DOX plus NFO combination therapy showed higher risk ratios of objective response rate (1.50, 95% CI 1.20-1.68, P = .0003) and disease control rate (1.15, 95% CI 1.05-1.27, P = .0030) compared with DOX monotherapy. Nevertheless, NFO-based monotherapy and combination therapy were found no improvements on OS (hazard ratio 0.93, 95% CI 0.52-1.65, P = .8050) and PFS (hazard ratio 0.88, 95% CI 0.54-1.43, P = .6088) against DOX. More incidences of grade 3 or worse anemia, thrombocytopenia, stomatitis, diarrhea, constipation, and febrile neutropenia were observed in NFO-based treatments.

CONCLUSION

Adding NFO to DOX as first-line therapy improved the responses in ASTS patients but did not prolong OS and PFS. Grade 3 or worse treatment-related adverse events should be treated with caution during the NFO-based therapies.

Chemotherapeutic drugs for soft tissue sarcomas: a review

Despite the low incidence of soft tissue sarcomas (STSs), hundreds of thousands of new STS cases are diagnosed annually worldwide, and approximately half of them eventually progress to advanced stages. Currently, chemotherapy is the first-line treatment for advanced STSs. There are difficulties in selecting appropriate drugs for multiline chemotherapy, or for combination treatment of different STS histological subtypes. In this study, we first comprehensively reviewed the efficacy of various chemotherapeutic drugs in the treatment of STSs, and then described the current status of sensitive drugs for different STS subtypes. anthracyclines are the most important systemic treatment for advanced STSs. Ifosfamide, trabectedin, gemcitabine, taxanes, dacarbazine, and eribulin exhibit certain activities in STSs. Vinca alkaloid agents (vindesine, vinblastine, vinorelbine, vincristine) have important therapeutic effects in specific STS subtypes, such as rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma family tumors, whereas their activity in other subtypes is weak. Other chemotherapeutic drugs (methotrexate, cisplatin, etoposide, pemetrexed) have weak efficacy in STSs and are rarely used. It is necessary to select specific second- or above-line chemotherapeutic drugs depending on the histological subtype. This review aims to provide a reference for the selection of chemotherapeutic drugs for multi-line therapy for patients with advanced STSs who have an increasingly long survival.