Comparison of melphalan with cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil in patients with ovarian cancer.

Melphalan (L-PAM) was compared to (C) cyclophosphamide, (M) methotrexate, and (F) 5-fluorouracil (CMF) in 413 patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma. L-PAM was given 3.5 mg/m2 twice daily for 5 days every 5 weeks. CMF doses were: C, 400 mg/m2; M, 15 mg/m2; and F, 400 mg/m2 IV on days 1 and 8 every 28 days. Three hundred seventy-five patients have been analyzed (L-PAM, 190; CMF, 185). One hundred fifty-three patients (41%) had measurable disease, 109 (29%) had evaluable disease, and 113 (30%) had nonmeasurable, nonevaluable disease. Response rates for patients with measurable and evaluable disease combined were similar: L-PAM, 32/130 (24%) (15% complete response); CMF, 47/132 (35%) (18% complete response). Patients with Stage IV measurable disease had a greater response rate to CMF, 22/52 (42%) versus L-PAM, 6/39 (15%). Survival and time to treatment failure were similar for both treatment regimens. Survival was improved in responders. Medians are: complete response, 28.1 months; partial response, 12.3 months; and no response, 6.7 months. Disease stage, performance status and age were identified as important prognostic variables for both survival and time to treatment failure.