Recent results of using a sequential combination of bleomycin and mitomycin C in the treatment of metastatic cervical cancer.

Thirty patients with metastatic cervical cancer were treated using a sequential combination of bleomycin and mitomycin C. The total remission rate obtained in the patients objectively evaluated was 88.3%, which included a 65.3% complete remission rate and a 23% partial remission rate. No significant difference in response rate was found among the various metastatic sites. The average remission duration in complete responders was about 4.5 months. Without maintenance therapy, they inevitably relapsed. The oral administration of Carboquone (an analogue of mitomycin C) as maintenance therapy inhibited recurrence effectively, but produced several fatal effects such as severe anemia, infection, and intestinal bleeding. Six (20%) of the patients survived these effects and are still alive more than 2 years after the initiation of the therapy.