Four patients with advanced Kaposi's sarcoma who were treated with weekly vinblastine therapy achieved long-term remissions. Three patients are still in complete remission at two years, four years, and four years respectively, while the fourth achieved excellent partial remission lasting seven-and-one-half years. The regimen produced no toxicity. We suggest the use of vinblastine as a useful chemotherapeutic agent for Kaposi's sarcoma.

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) may develop during pregnancy or affect later pregnancies, causing serious risks of bleeding to the mother and fetus. High-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IGIV) has caused an immediate and predictable rise in platelet count during the infusion in both adults and children with chronic or acute ITP. The rapid rise in platelet counts may be important in preparing pregnant women with ITP for surgery or delivery. We report our experience in managing two women at weeks 29 and 37 week of gestation who required splenectomy and/or cesarean section. Both patients demonstrated an increase in platelet counts, underwent surgery without excess bleeding, and had normal infants with normal platelets, and with mild thrombocytopenia at delivery.

Thirty patients with advanced measurable colorectal cancer were randomized to receive either methotrexate (MTX) 200 mg/m2 or 40 mg/m2, followed in four hours by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 600 mg/m2. Patients receiving the higher dose MTX were given leucovorin rescue 24 hours later. Eight of 13 patients treated with 200 mg/m2 MTX + 5-FU developed severe hematologic toxicity, leading to two toxic deaths. In addition, 9/13 developed mild azotemia, and three patients had severe gastrointestinal toxicity. No patients with prior chemotherapy responded to either regimen. Among those without prior chemotherapy, there were two of six and three of eight partial responses, respectively, in the 200 mg/m2 and 40 mg/m2 MTX regimens. Sequential 200 mg/m2 MTX followed by 5-FU after four hours has unacceptable toxicity. Sequential treatment with standard dose MTX + 5-FU is tolerable and merits further study.