Teniposide in recurrent or advanced cervical carcinoma: a phase II trial in patients not previously treated with cytotoxic therapy.

Thirty-two patients with advanced or recurrent cervical cancer were entered into this study of single-agent teniposide as first-line chemotherapy at a dose of 100 mg/m2 intravenously on Days 1-3 every 3 weeks. Of these patients, 7 (22%) had a partial response to therapy; no patient had a complete response. Median time to treatment failure was 13 weeks [95% confidence limits (CL): 10-21 weeks] and median survival was 28 weeks (95% CL: 14-43 weeks). Toxicity was moderate. Leukopenia and thrombocytopenia (WHO grade 3 or 4) was noted in 9 patients and 1 patient, respectively. Nausea and vomiting were mild. Seventy-five percent had alopecia requiring a wig. There were no treatment-related deaths. This study indicates that teniposide has some, although limited, activity in cervical cancer.