Efficacy of combination-chemotherapy with pirarubicin, ifosfamide, and etoposide for soft tissue sarcoma: a single-institution retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: The standard chemotherapy regimens for soft tissue sarcoma are doxorubicin-based. This retrospective study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of pirarubicin, ifosfamide, and etoposide combination therapy for patients with this disease. The primary endpoint was overall response, and the secondary endpoint was adverse events of this regimen. RESULTS: Responses to this regimen according to RECIST criteria were partial response (n = 9, 36%), stable disease (n = 9, 36%) and progressive disease (n = 7, 28%). During the treatment phase, frequent grade 3 or worse adverse events were hematological toxicities including white blood cell decreases (96%), febrile neutropenia (68%), anemia (68%), and platelet count decreases (48%). No long-term adverse events were reported during the study period. CONCLUSION: This regimen was comparable to previously published doxorubicin-based combination chemotherapy in terms of response rate. Although there were no long-lasting adverse events, based on our results, severe hematological toxicity should be considered.