Inefficacy of vindesine monotherapy in advanced stage IV malignant melanoma patients previously treated with other chemotherapeutic agents

The anti-melanoma activity of vindesine as a single or polychemotherapeutic agent has been reported previously in adjuvant and first-line melanoma treatment. In this study, we investigated the usefulness of vindesine monotherapy as salvage therapy in stage IV melanoma patients after failure of other chemotherapies. Thirteen patients with progressive disease were treated with 3 mg/m(2) vindesine every 2 weeks (median age, 61 years). Previous systemic treatment consisted of polychemotherapy or combined chemo-immunotherapy. All 13 patients suffered from visceral metastases (three lung, one liver, one adrenal gland and eight multiple visceral metastases). A median of three vindesine treatments was administered. Despite the various pretreatments, the toxicity of vindesine was mild. In all 13 patients, vindesine treatment was stopped due to disease progression. The median survival after primary tumour diagnosis was 42 months (8-151 months), the survival after entering stage IV was 11 months (3-35 months), and the survival after starting vindesine therapy was 4 months (1-22 months). We conclude that vindesine monotherapy is ineffective in stage IV melanoma patients previously treated with other chemotherapeutic agents.