Long term combination treatment with bevacizumab, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and regional abdominal hyperthermia in platinum refractory ovarian cancer: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Platinum resistance constitutes a therapeutic challenge in the treatment of ovarian cancer, with overall unsatisfactory response rates to standard chemotherapy and correspondingly low survival. Regional abdominal hyperthermia and bevacizumab are treatment options that have both shown the capacity to improve the results of standard chemotherapy in the platinum-resistant situation, when added to the treatment schedule. CASE REPORT: We report on a 29-year-old patient with primary platinum-refractory ovarian cancer, who was treated with a combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, regional abdominal hyperthermia and bevacizumab in a four-week cycle over a long-term period of 38 months. Due to an excellent clinical and radiologic response resulting in stable disease, with a concomitant mild toxicity profile consisting only of intermitted diarrhoea and mild fatigue [corrected] , the treatment was continued in an ambulatory setting. DISCUSSION: To our knowledge we describe the first experience with combination treatment of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin with regional abdominal hyperthermia and bevacizumab in a long term setting of almost 2 years. Excellent response with comparably low toxicity was demonstrated. Further evaluation as a therapeutic option in this heavily pretreated and highly palliative patient population is warranted.