Neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy with doxorubicin and ifosfamide for bone sarcomas in adult and older patients

The present study investigated the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy with doxorubicin and ifosfamide for bone sarcoma in adult and older patients. A total of 18 consecutive patients with bone sarcoma (American Joint Committee on Cancer stage II in 14 patients and stage IV in four) treated with neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy at Nagoya Musculoskeletal Oncology Group hospitals in Japan between 2004 and 2011 were reviewed. The treatment efficacy and side-effects were evaluated. The responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy were stable disease in 11 patients and progressive disease in three. Among the 12 evaluable patients, there were five with ≥90% tumor necrosis. The estimated overall survival (OS) rate at five years for the patients without metastasis prior to treatment was 56%. Major grade 3 or 4 side-effects included leukopenia in 14 cases, anemia in seven, thrombocytopenia in three, nausea in two and febrile neutropenia in two. One patient discontinued chemotherapy due to a temporarily depressed level of consciousness with arrhythmia (grade 2). The estimated five-year OS rate in this study was acceptable in patients without metastasis prior to treatment. A better coordinated prospective study of this combination regimen for older patients with bone sarcoma will be required to clarify its efficacy and tolerability.