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A trial of melphalan and methyl-gag was undertaken in 16 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Among 14 evaluable patients, 6 had stabilization of disease. No significant responses were observed. While both drugs have produced occasional responses in renal cancer, their combination shows no therapeutic advantage.

Thirty adult patients with relapsed or refractory malignant lymphoma underwent a Phase I-II trial of salvage chemotherapy combining methyl-gag, high-dose Ara-C, M-Amsa, and ifosfamide (MAMI protocol). All patients had been extensively pretreated. At the time of salvage therapy, 21 patients had visceral involvement and 23 patients were refractory. The overall response rate was 50% (11 patients in complete remission and 3 patients in partial remission). The main toxicity was myelosuppression; 4 treatment-related deaths occurred and 17 patients died of tumor progression with a median of 5 months. The MAMI protocol showed similar antitumoral efficacy to that of other salvage chemotherapy regimens used for poor prognosis malignant lymphoma but was more toxic. However, a response rate of 45% in refractory patients should be taken into account and this drug association deserves further investigation with regard to the selection of patients for bone marrow transplants.