Matched unrelated donor bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of platinum refractory ovarian carcinoma: a case report.

BACKGROUND: We are reporting on a case of platinum-refractory low-grade ovarian cancer responding to treatment with an allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from an unrelated donor. CASE: The 37-year-old patient received a preparative regimen consisting of fludarabine 25 mg/m(2) on days -6, -5, -4, -3 and -2, melphalan 70 mg/m(2) on days -3 and -2, and thymoglobulin 2 mg/kg on days -3, -2 and -1. An unrelated HLA-compatible bone marrow was infused on day 0. Graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis consisted of tacrolimus and methotrexate. The patient demonstrated complete donor chimerism. Serial CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis over the following 15 months showed a slow regression of the malignant lesion.
CONCLUSION: Engraftment of an unrelated donor marrow was achieved in a patient with ovarian cancer and induced a tumor response. This suggests the presence of a graft-versus-tumor effect in ovarian cancer. Further study is underway.