Dr. Gronchi on the Toxicity Profile of Trabectedin Plus Radiotherapy in Sarcoma

Alessandro Gronchi, MD, chair of Sarcoma Service, IRCCS Foundation National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy, discusses the toxicity profile of trabectedin (Yondelis) and radiation therapy in the international, prospective phase 2 TRASTS study in patients with soft tissue sarcoma.

No significant differences in safety with trabectedin/radiation therapy was observed in the study compared with what has been seen previously reported with this approach in soft tissue sarcoma, says Gronchi.

The combination of trabectedin and radiation therapy has been shown to be associated with neutropenia and elevated liver enzymes, adds Gronchi. All patients enrolled on the TRASTS study completed treatment and no toxicity-related deaths were reported. Additionally, none of the reported toxicities were determined to be unmanageable.

Notably, conventional chemotherapy agents anthracycline and ifosfamide are used in combination with radiotherapy when there is a locoregional need. In order to achieve maximum tumor shrinkage, conventional chemotherapy is combined with radiotherapy, explains Gronchi.

That being said, the combination of anthracycline-based chemotherapy plus radiotherapy is far more toxic than trabectedin plus radiotherapy from a bone marrow perspective, concludes Gronchi.