Bisantrene, biological and clinical effects

The clinical trials of bisantrene are still at an early stage. However, the many Phase II trials currently ongoing in the Southwest Oncology Group are too premature to draw any firm conclusions. However, there was general agreement during the discussion period that bisantrene does have definite clinical activity in certain tumors. These include metastatic breast cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, other types of lymphoma, leukemia, and, probably, ovarian cancer. There does not appear to be significant activity in malignant melanoma or in metastatic renal cancer. The conclusion of this symposium was that bisantrene is an active and reasonably well tolerated drug and that further trials are indicated.