High-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for patients with advanced ovarian cancer.
OBJECTIVE
We report the results of high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in twenty-one patients with primarily advanced or relapsed ovarian cancer.


METHODS
Twenty-five women underwent stem cell collection, and 21 were finally treated with different regimens of HDC containing cyclophosphamide, etoposide, carboplatin, and treosulfan. The patients received cyclophosphamide +/- cisplatin and cisplatin + paclitaxel, respectively, followed by G-CSF (n = 24) or GM-CSF (n = 1) for stem cell mobilization.


RESULTS
A mean of 7.2 +/- 6.1 x 10(6) CD34+ cells per kg bw were collected. Thirteen patients received double transplants and one patient received a triple transplant. The median age was 47 years (range 24-61 years) and the mean number of prior regimens was three (range 1-8). Engraftment occurred on time in all patients and there was one treatment-related death resulting in an overall mortality rate of 4.8% among the 21 patients treated with HDC. The response rate was 72% (48% CR, 24% PR) and the mean time to progression and overall survival after HDC were 7 and 32 months, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
HDC could be performed safely in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. However, even with a high response rate, the duration of response is short, warranting new treatment approaches to further improve the outcome of this population of patients with unfavorable prognosis.
Bojko
P
P
University of Essen, Department of Internal Medicine, West German Cancer Center, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122 Essen, Germany. peter.bojko@uni-essen.de
Scheulen
M E
ME
Hilger
R
R
Oberhoff
C
C
Schindler
A E
AE
Seeber
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*