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Clinical characteristics of leiomyosarcoma of soft tissues and results of treatment of patients with this pathology are presented. It was revealed that the peak of incidence was in the age group 5O-69 years. There was showed the priority of surgery, as the only method of treatment, and in the combined regimen with the overall five-year survival of 43,2% and 33,3% respectively.

Aim: To evaluate the efficiency of intensive polychemotherapy (PCT) in adult patients having diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBL) of bones and soft tissues with and without poor prognostic factors (PPF)., Subjects and Methods: Out of 58 enrolled patients, 51 were diagnosed as having DLBL. Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) was diagnosed in 6 patients. One patient had marginal zone B-cell lymphoma. Thirty-five patients with DLBL (10 patients with PPF and 25 without PPF) and 3 patients with BL were treated with the CHOP/R-CHOP regimen. The NHL-BFM-90 program was used in 3 patients with BL and 16 with DLBL (15 patients with PPF and 1 patient without PPF)., Results: After radiotherapy, the patient with marginal zone B-cell lymphoma achieved a 20-month remission; three BL patients receiving CHOP died. All the BL patients receiving NHL-BFM-90 achieved complete remissions of 48 to 72 months. In 9 patients having DLBL without PPF, who received CHOP, five-year overall and event-free survival rates were 100%; in 22 patients with PPF, these were 50 and 45%, respectively. In the patients with and without PPF, who received CHOP/R-CHOP, the survival rates differed statistically significantly (p = 0.01; logrank test). In the group of 15 patients having DLBL with PPF, who were treated with the NHL-BFM-90 protocol, 14 achieved an average remission of 17 months. In the patients having DLBL with PPF who used NHF-BFM-90, therapeutic efficiency was significantly higher (p = 0.05; Fisher's exact test)., Conclusion: Differential therapy for primary lymphomas of bones and soft tissues indicated that the NHL-BFM-90 protocol used in the PPF group was significantly more effective than the CHOP regimens.

Aim: To evaluate efficacy of intensive modified program NHL-BFM-90 (mNHL-BFM-90) in adult poor-prognosis patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphosarcoma (DLBCL) of the bones and soft tissues., Material and Methods: The mNHL-BFM-90 program was used in the treatment of 3 male and 2 female patients aged 17-69 years (median 42 years). Four patients had DLBCL of the bones and one patient--DLBCL of the soft tissues. All the patients had tumors more than 10 cm in size. B-symptoms, a high concentration of lactate dehydrogenase (LDG) were registered in 3 patients. One patient had stage IE by Ann-Arbor, two--stage IIE (involvement of regional lymph nodes), two--stage ME (multiple bone lesions). A total of 4-6 blocks of polychemotherapy according to mNHL-BFM-90 program were performed., Results: Complete remissions were achieved in all the patients. They had no recurrences after 6 to 20 month (median 13 months) follow-up., Conclusion: Positive results of the program mNHL-BFM-90 in poor-prognosis patients with DLBCL of the bones and tissues necessitate further studies of this therapy.

Phase-I clinical studies of teraphtal and a "teraphtal + ascorbic acid" catalytic system have been completed. The dose-limiting toxicity and maximum tolerable dose were not reached even at the end of maximal dose trials. No side-effects characteristic of antitumor cytostatic drugs were registered. The gravest side-effect ever recorded was a collapse which could not be linked to teraphtal dosage and was probably caused by hypersensitivity to the drug. The drug was recommended for phase II trials.

The 30-year experience of P.A. Herzen Moscou Cancer Research Institute in the treatment of soft tissue desmoid fibromas (DF) is summarized. A comparative study of effectiveness of surgical, combined, radiation and medicamentous methods was carried out. Frequency of recurrences after surgical treatment made up 94%, after combined treatment with preoperative radiation it decreased 3-fold (27.5%), in cases of postoperative radiation it made up 53%, and after radiation therapy--15.7%. However radiation therapy may have limitations due to necessity for irradiation of large tumour masses and usage of high-dose ionized irradiation which results in development of postradiation tissue damages. Further research brought about an original chemohormonal therapy (tamoxiphen, vinblastin, methotrexate), which provides stable recovery in 81.3% of patients. Principal positions for management of DF are formulated.

The study included 27 patients with regional and distant metastases of bladder cancer. Regional and distant metastases were detected in 12 (44.4%) and 15 (55.6%) patients, respectively. Basic treatment consisted in chemotherapy (MVAC scheme) which combined with reaferon immunotherapy. Chemoimmunotherapy in combination with radiotherapy was used in 8 patients to relieve pain caused by the metastases. The response was seen in 37% of patients with regional metastases and 22% of patients with distant ones. The former and the latter were followed up for 15.9 and 9.3 months, respectively.

Carminomycin is an original antitumor antibiotic from the anthracycline group isolated at the Institute of New Antibiotics (USSR) in 1973. Pharmacological investigation of carminomycin revealed its satisfactory absorption from the gastrointestinal tract which proved to be a distinguishing property of the antibiotic as compared to other anthracyclines such as adriamycin and rubomycin. The clinical trials of carminomycin showed that it was mainly active against soft tissue sarcoma and breast cancer, lymphosarcoma, neuroblastoma, Wilms' tumor and Ewing's sarcoma in children, as well as acute leukemia. Various regimens for the antibiotic administration were applied: short-term, single and long-term. Suppression of hemopoiesis was considered as a limiting toxic effect. By the data available carminomycin had lower cardiotoxicity as compared with rubomycin and adriamycin. Development of oral carminomycin is believed promising.

Results of treatment of 101 cases of soft tissue sarcoma are presented in the paper. Preoperative irradiation technique and radical program of treatment are described. Combined radiation and surgical treatment was given to 45 patients whereas conservative--to 56. Sixty-three cases received adjuvant combination chemotherapy. Response and three-year survival rates were compared to those in control group treated by photons. The results observed in patients of combined and conservative treatment groups who had been irradiated with fast neutrons proved significantly better than in controls. These data suggest vistas in application of fast neutron irradiation for the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas.

Twenty patients with generalized breast cancer metastasizing in bones were subjected to treatment by a combination of adriablastine with cyclophosphane or adriablastine with cyclophosphane, 5-fluoruracil, vincristine using repeat 8-day cycles with 3-week intervals between them. A considerable subjective and sympathetic improvement was noted in 13 patients. Of 14 patients in whom bone metastases were associated with tumor involvement of different soft tissues and organs the tumor regression was gained in 8 patients. Side effects in all these cases were similar and mostly related with the use of adriablastine: nausea, vomiting, alopecia.

A comparative morphofunctional analysis of lymphoid cells of BALB/c mice with the transplantable tumours was performed after the cyclophosphamide (CP) treatment. CP was injected by 3 schemes in a dose of 200 mg/kg of body weight. It was found that the more effective therapeutic scheme of CP treatment is accompanied by essential normalization of the ratio of lymphocyte populations in the lymph nodes against a background of a comparatively good state of proliferating cells as well as by a higher rate of restoration of proliferative responses to T and B cell mitogens in vivo.

A total of 39 patients with sarcoma of the soft tissues were treated with carminomycin administered intravenously in doses of 10-15 mg twice a week, the total dose being 60-70 mg. The intervals between the courses were 1 month. The objective effect was observed in 17 out of 39 patients, i. e. 43.6%. The tumor decrease was registered in 6 out of 15 patients with leuomyosarcoma, in 3 out of 6 patients with synovial sarcoma, in 2 out of 4 patients with robdomyosarcoma, in 1 out of 4 patients with angiosarcoma, in 1 out of 3 patients with fibrosarcoma, in 1 patient with liposarcoma and in 3 out of 5 patients with stromal sarcoma of the uterus. A necessity for repeated treatment courses in spite of a positive effect or absence of the disease progress is underlined.

Thirteen patients with neglected mammary cancer were treated with karminomycin in combination with hexamethylmelamine. Twelve out of the 13 patients were previously subjected many times to cytostatic and hormonal therapy. A significant therapeutic effect was registered in 5 out the 13 patients (38 per cent), the total rate of the objective effect being 54 per cent. The remission period with a significant effect was 6 to 9 months. Fifteen patients with sarcoma metastases in the soft tissue were treated with karminomycin in combnation with methotrexate and cyclophosphane. A significant therapeutic effect was observed in 45 per cent of the cases with synovial sarcoma, hemangyopericitoma and leuomyosarcoma, the remission period being 4 to 12 months. The side effects of the above combinations were determined.

The results of treatment of 69 cases of advanced soft tissue sarcomas are presented. Patients were given various drug schemes including cisplatin. Overall response in the study group was 30%. Tumor appeared sensitive to the treatment in 49%. A combination of carminomycin, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide and cisplatin proved to be the most effective (39%). The scheme was effective in both untreated patients and those previously treated with adriamycin. Hematologic toxicity registered in 67% cases was the most severe complication involved in the treatment with the above drug regimen.