HIGH-DOSE METHOTREXATE USED ALONE AND IN COMBINATION FOR MEASURABLE PRIMARY OR METASTATIC OSTEO-SARCOMA

Abstract

High-dose methotrexate with leucovorin rescue was used alone or in combination with adriamycin and cyclophosphamide for the treatment of 27 osteosarcoma patients with measurable indicators of disease. Three patients developed complete responses of measurable lesion, 2 had partial responses, 2 had static disease, 1 had symptomatic improvement, and 1 had return to normal of physical findings following treatment of a flat bone primary osteosarcoma. While the doses and frequency of administration of high-dose methotrexate differed from those used by previous investigators, aggressive treatment with high-dose methotrexate must be attempted to further evaluate its efficacy as single-agent therapy for osteosarcoma patients not eligible for adjuvant chemotherapy trials.