Efficacy of topotecan plus vincristine and doxorubicin in children with recurrent/refractory rhabdomyosarcoma

Background This study investigates the efficacy and the feasibility of a chemotherapy regimen with topotecan plus vincristine and doxorubicin (TVD) given on an individually tailored basis to patients with refractory/recurrent rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). Patients and methods Nine patients received TVD therapy at relapse, and six were assessable for response. Results All the six patients experienced objective response after two cycles of chemotherapy: one minor response, four partial response, and one complete response. Conclusions The value of our study is severely limited by the small number of cases, the single-institutional setting and the individually tailored treatment, but we nonetheless confirmed the feasibility and tolerability of topotecan-based chemotherapy in RMS.