Summary
Thirty patients with disseminated malignant tumors received 0.5–2 mg vincristine/m2 as a continuous infusion for 1–5 days. Tumor regressions were observed in five patients (17%) who had all received polychemotherapy before. Side effects occurred in 22 patients (73%). Toxicity was mainly neurological in type, and reversible. Eleven patients (37%) suffered from deep nagging pain. Six patients (20%) had paralytic ileus; caerulein, a decapeptide, was given to two of them and led to a prompt resolution of the symptoms. Monitoring of immune parameters in ten patients revealed a transient depression of T and B cell function. Vincristine is highly toxic when given as continuous infusion in doses of 1.2 mg/m2 or more daily. Therefore this modality is not recommended for routine clinical use. Future studies of continuous vincristine infusions should use less than 1.2 mg vincristine/m2 daily.
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Weber, W., Nagel, G.A., Nagel-Studer, E. et al. Vincristine infusion. Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 3, 49–55 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00254420
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00254420