title: Continuous mitoxantrone infusion in pretreated epithelial ovarian cancer.
abstract: Mitoxantrone has shown moderate activity in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer following intermittent i.v. administration. Experiments and clinical data suggest that long-term continuous drug infusion may achieve a better therapeutic result with less toxicity. This hypothesis was tested in patients with advanced ovarian cancer who had been pretreated with other agents. Mitoxantrone was infused continuously in 21-day courses beginning every 6 weeks. If severe toxicity did not occur, the infusion rate was increased by 0.1-0.2 mg/m2 per day. The mitoxantrone solution proved to be stable over the 21-day infusion period. For ethical reasons an optimal two-stage design was employed. The trial was interrupted at the end of the first recruitment stage because the target of 3 responses out of 13 patients had not been achieved (only 1 patient had a partial response). Hematologic toxicity was observed in 11 patients, and 2 of them had a catheter occlusion. In conclusion, we found that 21-day of infusion of mitoxantrone apparently has no clinical benefit as compared with bolus administration in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Department, Padova General Hospital, Italy.
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Nicoletto
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Padrini
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koussis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosabian
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aversa
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Endrizzi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Azzoni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palumbo
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Fiorentino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018394:CA-125 Antigen / Q000097:blood; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D018283:Cystadenocarcinoma, Papillary / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007260:Infusion Pumps; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D007970:Leukopenia / Q000139:chemically induced; D008875:Middle Aged; D008942:Mitoxantrone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D018394:CA-125 Antigen; D008942:Mitoxantrone