Efficacy of topotecan plus vincristine and doxorubicin in children with recurrent/refractory rhabdomyosarcoma.

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the efficacy and the feasibility of a chemotherapy regimen with topotecan plus vincristine and doxorubicin (TVD) given on an individually tailored basis to patients with refractory/recurrent rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nine patients received TVD therapy at relapse, and six were assessable for response. RESULTS: All the six patients experienced objective response after two cycles of chemotherapy: one minor response, four partial response, and one complete response. CONCLUSIONS: The value of our study is severely limited by the small number of cases, the single-institutional setting and the individually tailored treatment, but we nonetheless confirmed the feasibility and tolerability of topotecan-based chemotherapy in RMS.