A phase II study of m-AMSA in patients with primary liver cancer.

Thirty-five evaluable patients with histologically confirmed primary liver cancer (PLC) were treated with m-AMSA. All patients had measurable disease and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 1, 2, or 3. m-AMSA 120 mg/M2 IV was given every 21 days. Hemopoietic suppression was the major side-effect. In 26 of 35 patients (25 with leukopenia and five with thrombocytopenia), this toxic effect was documented. There was only one patient who had a partial remission (PR) of 51 weeks' duration, but a no change (NC) status was maintained in 28 patients for at least 6 weeks. The median survival time of all patients on this study was 13 weeks, which compares favorably with most previous studies.