Hemorrhagic peritoneal carcinomatosis treated with a weekly schedule of carboplatin and paclitaxel. A case report.
Ovarian carcinomas are chemosensitive tumors. Chemotherapy plays a pivotal role also in advanced disease, and the response to chemotherapy appears to be predictive of prolonged survival. Only performance status seems to limit therapy administration and affect patient survival. Here we report on a 66-year-old patient with a clinical status heavily compromised by peritoneal carcinomatosis associated with bloody effusion, which required increasingly frequent paracentesis and transfusions. The clinical conditions worsened under carboplatin monochemotherapy. A further attempt with carboplatin and paclitaxel in a weekly schedule resulted in a clinical response in terms of reduced need for paracentesis and blood support and improved performance status. This case confirms that treatment is the only chance to improve clinical status even in patients with very advanced ovarian cancer and an extensive tumor load. In our opinion, the modified schedule adopted in the case presented here may be worthwhile for future phase II studies in a selected patient population.
Montella
Liliana
L
Dipartimento Medico, Unità Operativa di Oncologia Medica, ULSS 17 Veneto, Montagnana (Padua), Italy. limontel@libero.it
Vardanega
Antonella
A
Perin
Bortolo
B
Zappalà
Carmelo
C
Bonciarelli
Giorgio
G
D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016190:Carboplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D016190:Carboplatin; D017239:Paclitaxel