title: Leuprolide acetate as a salvage-therapy in relapsed epithelial ovarian cancer.
abstract: A large number of studies have been conducted in patients affected by epithelial ovarian cancer to assess the potential utility of a variety of different regimens in patients who have relapsed after primary surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. In this open prospective study, 32 patients with ovarian cancer of epithelial histology who had relapsed after platinum-based line chemotherapy and had exhausted all standard treatments, received Leuprolide acetate depot 3.75 mg, intramuscularly once a month until tumor progression. Four patients (12.5%) had clinical and/or radiological partial response; remission was then maintained for a mean duration of 8.7 months (range 6-11 months) before new progression occurred. Five patients (15.6%) remained stable for a mean time of 5.2 months (range 4-6 months) and 23 patients (71.9%) continued to progress following therapy and have since died by tumor with a median survival of 3.6 months after initiation of the protocol. Treatment is well-tolerated and no toxicity has been noted. These data stress the significant activity of Leuprolide acetate as a salvage therapy in patients with relapsed advanced epithelial ovarian cancer after previous platinum-based chemotherapies.
authors.affiliation: I Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Bari Medical School, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marinaccio
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: D'Addario
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serratì
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cagnazzo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016729:Leuprolide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017671:Platinum Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012074:Remission Induction; D016879:Salvage Therapy; D015996:Survival Rate; D017211:Treatment Failure
chemical_list: D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D017671:Platinum Compounds; D016729:Leuprolide