[A late phase II study of CPT-11 on uterine cervical cancer and ovarian cancer. Research Groups of CPT-11 in Gynecologic Cancers].

A late phase II study of CPT-11, a new derivative of camptothecin, in uterine cervical cancer and ovarian cancer was carried out by a cooperative study group at 26 institutions. Out of 144 patients enrolled, total cases were 110, involving 55 uterine cervical cancers and 55 ovarian cancers. In uterine cervical cancer, 5 cases of complete response (CR) and 8 cases of partial response (PR) were observed, with a response rate of 23.6% and a CR rate of 9.1%. In ovarian cancer, 13 cases of PR were observed, response rate was 23.6%. Both in uterine cervical cancer and ovarian cancer, the 95% confidence interval of response rate was 12.4-34.8%. In cases having undergone previous chemotherapy including platinum, derivatives, the response rate in ovarian cancer was 23.1% (12/52). In cases of uterine cervical cancer having previous radiotherapy, the response rate was 26.8% (11/41). In ovarian cancer of various histological types, a response was observed for not only serous cystadenocarcinoma but also mucinous cystadenocarcinoma, etc. A response was observed in distant metastatic lesions such as lung metastasis as well as primary lesion in uterine cervical cancer and ovarian cancer. Major adverse reactions were leukopenia, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and anorexia, and these incidences (grade 2 or more) were 87.3, 60.3, 44.0 and 67.2%, respectively. Since some patients experienced severe adverse reactions, caution should be taken in treatment with CPT-11. Besides these reactions, alopecia was observed (33.1%), but severe adverse reactions such as nephropathy were not found. No significant difference in the efficacy and adverse reactions were observed between administration methods; A, 100 mg/m2 once weekly and B, 150 mg/m2 once every 2 weeks. Both were thought to be clinically useful. These results suggest that CPT-11 is clinically effective against uterine cervical cancer and ovarian cancer.