Initial clinical study with vindesine: tolerance to weekly iv bolus and 24-hour infusion.

Forty-six patients with inoperable cancer and leukemia in relapse were given vindesine (VDS) either by iv bolus weekly at doses ranging from 2.0 to 5.5 mg/m2 or by 24-hour continuous infusion weekly at doses ranging from 1.0 to 7.0 mg/m2 of estimated body surface area. VDS was well-tolerated by patients with normal liver function who had previously been minimally treated with myelosuppressive agents at a dose of less than or equal to 4 mg/m2 either by iv bolus or by 24-hour infusion weekly. The dose-limiting toxic effects of VDS were leukopenia and neurotoxicity. Leukopenia was cumulative but easily reversible by interruption of weekly dose. Neurotoxicity was insidious and hardly reversible. Patients with liver dysfunction appeared to develop more neurotoxicity. Other toxic effects included a decrease in hemoglobin level, transient hepatic dysfunction, cellulitis or phlebitis at the iv site, stomatitis, nausea, and vomiting. Degrees and parameters of toxic effects observed after iv bolus and 24-hour infusion of the same doses were indistinguishable except for an increased incidence of local cellulitis in the infusion group.