Phase II trial of cisplatin, gemcitabine and treosulfan in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma

Gemcitabine plus treosulfan (GeT) is under investigation in metastatic uveal melanoma. In this phase II trial, cisplatin was added to a GeT regimen to investigate the efficacy and toxicity of two alkylating agents in combination with gemcitabine. Patients received 30 or 40 mg/m2 of cisplatin, 1000 mg/m2 of gemcitabine and 3000 mg/m2 of treosulfan on days 1 and 8. Therapy was repeated on day 29. A maximum of six cycles was administered. Nineteen patients were included in the trial, of whom 17 were evaluable for response. No objective response was observed; seven patients (41%) had stable disease and 10 (59%) progressed. The median progression-free survival of all 19 patients was 3.0 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.8–3.1]; the median overall survival was 7.7 months (95% CI, 1.9–13.8). Grade 3 and 4 thrombopenia and leucopenia occurred in eight and nine of the 19 patients, respectively. The addition of cisplatin to the GeT regimen results in excessive haematological toxicity without improvement in efficacy.