ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Panminerva Medica 2001 December;43(4):263-5

Copyright © 2009 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Paclitaxel and carboplatin as outpatient therapy for stage III and IV epithelial ovarian cancer

Balbi G. C., Menditto A., Calabria G., Musone R., Di Prisco L., Cassese E., Balbi C., Cardone A.

From the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology Second University of Studies of Naples, Naples, Italy

Back­ground. To deter­mine the tox­ic­ity and the ­response ­rate of a ­three-­hour pac­li­tax­el infu­sion and car­bop­la­tin admin­is­tered as out­pa­tient treat­ment for ­stage III and IV epi­the­lial ovar­ian can­cer.
Meth­ods. For­ty-­three ­patients ­with ­stage III/IV epi­the­lial ovar­ian can­cer under­went cytor­e­duc­tive sur­gery and ­then ­received pac­li­tax­el 175 mg/m2 ­over 3-hr infu­sion and car­bop­la­tin AUC5 eve­ry 21 ­days for six ­cycles. Eleg­ible ­patients had ade­quate ­bone mar­row, ­renal and hepat­ic func­tion; G-CSF was rec­om­mend­ed if ­white ­cell ­count ­fell ­under 3,000/mm3.
­Results. No ­patients had hyper­sen­siv­ity reac­tions; 15 out of 43 ­patients (35%) ­required col­o­ny-stim­u­lat­ing fac­tors, 39 ­patients (91%) had gen­er­al alo­pe­cia, three ­patients (7%) had ­severe eme­sis, 20 ­patients (46%) had ­mild eme­sis, four ­patients (9%) had ­severe myal­gias, eight ­patients (18%) had mod­er­ate myal­gias, one ­patient (2%) had ­grade 3 neu­ro­tox­ic­ity. ­Three ­patients expe­ri­enced ­grade 3 throm­bo­cy­to­pe­nia (7%). At a ­median fol­low-up of 29 ­months, 32 of 43 ­patients are ­alive (74%). ­Median pro­gres­sion-­free sur­vi­val is 14 ­months. ­Median over­all sur­vi­val has not ­been ­reached.
Con­clu­sions. Three-hour infu­sion pac­li­tax­el and car­bop­la­tin is an effec­tive and ­safe out­pa­tient ther­a­py for epi­the­lial ovar­ian can­cer.