Experience with high-dose methotrexate therapy for malignant solid tumors]

Thirteen patients with malignant solid tumors, mainly osteogenic sarcomas, were treated by high-dose MTX therapy, 50-400 mg/kg, in a total of 72 cycles. It has been proved that this therapy was relatively safe provided careful clinical surveillance were assured. Of 8 patients with osteogenic sarcomas, 6 had no metastatic lesions on the chest X-rays before this therapy: three were alive without any evidence of disease for 18-25 months after high-dose MTX therapy. In some cases of other malignant solid tumors, particularly intracranial tumors, clinical efficacy was observed. Dose-time relationships, etc. should further be studied for more therapeutic efficacies of high-dose MTX therapy.