cis-Dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) alone and combined with DTIC for treatment of disseminated malignant melanoma

Twenty-one patients with disseminated malignant melanoma were treated with cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) (cis-DDP): ten with cis-DDP alone at a dose of 20 mg/m ²iv x 4 days every 4 weeks and 11 with cis-DDP at a dose of 15 mg/m ² iv x 4 days combined with DTIC at a dose of 200 mg/m ² iv x 5 days every 4 weeks. Two of 21 patients (10%) showed a partial response to therapy. There were no complete responses and no apparent increases in length of survival for responders compared to nonresponders. One drug-related death occurred. Otherwise, drug toxicity was acceptable and appeared to be diminished by iv hydration and prolonged administration. In this study, cis-DDP was not effective for treatment of disseminated malignant melanoma.