Mitomycin-C, bleomycin, vincristine, and cis-platinum in the treatment of advanced, recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix.

A combination chemotherapy regimen containing mitomycin-C (10 mg/m2, day 2), vincristine (0.5 mg/m2, days 1 and 4), bleomycin (30 U QD, days 1--4 as a continuous intravenous infusion during courses one and two only), and cis-platinum (50 mg/m2, days 1 and 22) was administered every 6 weeks to 14 evaluable patients with advanced (i.e., Stage IVB) and/or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. Four patients (29%) achieved a complete response, lasting 8, 9.5+, 17+, and 21+ months. Three of these patients have had complete disappearance of their pulmonary metastases and one has had resolution of a large left-sided pelvic wall mass. Two additional patients (14%) had a partial response to therapy, each lasting 1.5 months. The median survival for these 14 patients was 9.0 months. The chemotherapy regimen was well tolerated. There were no drug-related deaths and no instances of severe or irreversible renal dysfunction or peripheral neuropathy. The mean lowest white blood cell and platelet counts were 4540 and 205,000 per mm3, respectively. Although severe or life-threatening thrombocytopenia occurred in only 36% patients, it appeared to be the dose-limiting toxicity of this drug combination.