Long-term application of vindesine: toxicity and tolerance.

This is a report on 14 patients receiving vindesine continuously for between 1 and 7 years. Total vindesine doses ranged from 86 mg to 454 mg and the longest treatment duration was 2564 days. Although there was no patient without a transient acute or subacute toxicity, no unequivocal signs of long-term toxicity have been observed so far. Greater caution must be given to the concomitant use of higher radiation doses and vindesine, since local reactions were more pronounced especially at the lung. The drug seems to be tolerated for longer periods without major or cumulative toxicity, which makes it suitable for use in the adjuvant setting, for instance, or within an antimetastatic approach.