Original Article Efficacy and Safety of Gemcitabine–Docetaxel Combination Therapy for Recurrent or Refractory High-grade Osteosarcoma in China: A Retrospective Study of 18 Patients

Objective: In this study, we describe experiences with gemcitabine–docetaxel combination therapy as salvage treatment for Chinese patients with recurrent or refractory high-grade osteosarcoma. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 18 patients with recurrent or re-fractory high-grade osteosarcoma who had undergone gemcitabine–docetaxel combination treatment as salvage chemotherapy. Gemcitabine at 675 mg/m2 was administered on Days 1 and 8, and docetaxel at 75–100 mg/m2 was administered on Day 8. The combination therapy was repeated every 3 weeks. Treatment was continued until evidence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Results: The patients (ages 12–57 years) received a total of 44 cycles of chemotherapy (median: 2 courses; range: 2–6 courses). The overall response rate was 5.6 % and the disease control rate was 22.3%, with one partial response and three patients with stable disease. The median time to progression and overall survival time were 2 months (range: 2–6 months) and 8 months (range: 3–21 months), respectively. Major severe toxicities were hematologic toxici-ties, including Grade 3 or 4 anemia (9.1%), leucopenia (29.5%) and thrombocytopenia (18.1%) in total cycles; mild toxicities included Grade 1 or 2 nausea and vomiting (31.8%), fatigue (38.6%) and alopecia (20.5%). There were no treatment-related deaths. Conclusions: In the current study, gemcitabine–docetaxel combination therapy at this dosage and schedule was found to be well tolerated and marginally effective, which could be considered as salvage therapy for patients with recurrent or refractory high-grade osteosarcoma. Key words: osteosarcoma – gemcitabine – docetaxel – salvage chemotherap