Background: The prognosis of patients with carcinoma of unknown primary remains poor with an expected median survival of 6 to 12 months. We evaluated the activity of a chemotherapy regimen combining gemcitabine and docetaxel in patients who primarily failed cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
Patients and methods: Fifteen patients received cycles of gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 and docetaxel 75 mg/m2 on day 8 every 3 weeks.
Results: The median number of cycles per patient was 3. Overall toxicity was moderate. Four partial responses were observed among 14 patients with measurable disease. The median survival was 8 months from start of therapy and 23 months from diagnosis.
Conclusion: These results were obtained in a small series of selected patients and require further confirmation in the front-line management of the disease.