Thirty-two patients with metastatic melanoma received combination chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. Treatment included Carmustine, Cisplatin, Dacarbazine and Tamoxifen (BCDT). The overall response rate was 47%: five patients had a complete response (16%), 10 patients had a partial response (31%) and two had no response (6%). The median survival for responders was 10 months (range 2-20). The BCDT regimen was equally effective against soft tissue and visceral metastases. Neither survival or response rate was modified by pretreatment with alpha-interferon (alpha-IFN). In agreement with the results of a recent randomized trial comparing the efficacy of Dacarbazine with that of Dacarbazine plus Tamoxifen, a better survival was found in women than in men: although the response rate was identical (47%), the median duration of response was higher for women. A fall in serum soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) levels after therapy was seen in responding patients, confirming the usefulness of this parameter in monitoring disease evolution.