BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to report on the safety and efficacy of gemcitabine used as salvage chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 2002 to October 2011, 27 patients were treated with gemcitabine for platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer. Gemcitabine (800 mg/m(2)) was given on days 1, 8, and 15 of every 28 days. The patients' medical records were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: All 27 patients had previously received paclitaxel/carboplatin doublet and their disease had become platinum-resistant. The median number of previous chemotherapy regimens was 2 (range 1-7). A total of 114 cycles of single-agent gemcitabine were administered, with a median of 3 (range 1-10). No complete responses were observed. Partial response (PR) was observed in five patients (18.5%). Eight patients demonstrated stable disease (SD). The median duration of response for 5 responders was 4 months (range 2-6 months). The median survival time was 15 months. Patients with PR or SD (n=13) had significantly better survival compared with the group with progressive disease (n=14) (p=0.03, by univariate analysis). In addition, multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that responses to gemcitabine were a significant factor for survival (hazard ratio=0.08, 95% confidence interval=0.0138 to 0.5614, p=0.01). Cases with hematological toxicity included 10 patients (37.0%) with grade 3/4 neutropenia, 3 patients (11.1%) with grade 3 thrombocytopenia, and 3 patients (11.1%) with grade 3 anemia. Non-hematological toxicity was well-tolerated. CONCLUSION: Gemcitabine (800 mg/m(2)) used for recurrent ovarian cancer possesses a modest activity and a well-tolerated toxicity.
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to report on the safety and efficacy of gemcitabine used as salvage chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 2002 to October 2011, 27 patients were treated with gemcitabine for platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer. Gemcitabine (800 mg/m(2)) was given on days 1, 8, and 15 of every 28 days. The patients' medical records were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: All 27 patients had previously received paclitaxel/carboplatin doublet and their disease had become platinum-resistant. The median number of previous chemotherapy regimens was 2 (range 1-7). A total of 114 cycles of single-agent gemcitabine were administered, with a median of 3 (range 1-10). No complete responses were observed. Partial response (PR) was observed in five patients (18.5%). Eight patients demonstrated stable disease (SD). The median duration of response for 5 responders was 4 months (range 2-6 months). The median survival time was 15 months. Patients with PR or SD (n=13) had significantly better survival compared with the group with progressive disease (n=14) (p=0.03, by univariate analysis). In addition, multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that responses to gemcitabine were a significant factor for survival (hazard ratio=0.08, 95% confidence interval=0.0138 to 0.5614, p=0.01). Cases with hematological toxicity included 10 patients (37.0%) with grade 3/4 neutropenia, 3 patients (11.1%) with grade 3 thrombocytopenia, and 3 patients (11.1%) with grade 3 anemia. Non-hematological toxicity was well-tolerated. CONCLUSION:Gemcitabine (800 mg/m(2)) used for recurrent ovarian cancer possesses a modest activity and a well-tolerated toxicity.
Authors: Nicola R Hardwick; Paul Frankel; Christopher Ruel; Julie Kilpatrick; Weimin Tsai; Ferdynand Kos; Teodora Kaltcheva; Lucille Leong; Robert Morgan; Vincent Chung; Raechelle Tinsley; Melissa Eng; Sharon Wilczynski; Joshua D I Ellenhorn; Don J Diamond; Mihaela Cristea Journal: Clin Cancer Res Date: 2018-01-04 Impact factor: 12.531