Treatment of disseminated malignant melanoma with cisplatin in combination with whole-body hyperthermia and doxorubicin

Twenty-three patients with disseminated malignant melanoma were entered in a pilot study conducted from January 1983 to January 1988. There were 14 men and nine women. Fifteen patients were available for final evaluation. The criterion for evaluation was the completion of the two thermochemotherapy cycles. Patients received multipledrug chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin (80 mg/m2, i.v., day 1) and doxorubicin (50 mg/m2, i.v., day 2); applications were repeated on days 22-29. Cisplatin was administered concurrently with whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) on day 1 (body core temperature 41±0·5°C/h). The following response rates were achieved: complete remission (CR) 0/15; partial remission (PR) 3/15; minor response (MR) 4/15, no change (NC) 3/15; progressive disease (PD) 5/15. These findings are within the range known from the literature of the response to multiple-drug chemotherapy without hyperthermia. Toxicity, in particular renal toxicity, was not enhanced by the combined application of cisplatin and hyperthermia, with the exception of the bone marrow toxicity, which seemed to be slightly more pronounced than that known from normothermic application. Concurrent administration of thermochemotherapy with cisplatin and WBH (41±0·5°C/h) is no more effective than the multiple-drug chemotherapy without hyperthermia as reported in the literature.