title: Consolidation and maintenance treatments for patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer in complete response after first-line chemotherapy: a review of the literature.
abstract: Most patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer experience objective responses to paclitaxel/platinum-based chemotherapy, but responses are generally short-lived and the clinical outcome is still unsatisfactory. Therefore, the strategy to consolidate and to prolong the duration of response is very attractive. Different consolidation or maintenance treatments have been attempted, such as whole abdomen radiotherapy, intraperitoneal chromic phosphate, radioimmunotherapy, intraperitoneal chemotherapy, high-dose chemotherapy with haematopoietic support, prolonged administration of the first-line regimen, second-line single-agent chemotherapy, and biological agents. Clinical studies have given conflicting, inconclusive, and generally disappointing results. A recent US randomised trial appeared to show that the prolonged administration of single-agent paclitaxel (175 mg/m2 every 3 weeks) significantly improved the progression-free survival of complete responders to paclitaxel/platinum-based chemotherapy. Alternative less toxic, and probably more effective schedules of administration of chemotherapy (i.e. weekly paclitaxel) might assure a better balance between quality of life and anti-tumor activity in patients previously exposed to chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Procreative Medicine, Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Pisa, Via Roma 56, Pisa 56127, Italy. a.gadducci@obgyn.med.unipi.it
authors.forename: Angiolo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gadducci
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cosio
authors.forename: Pier Franco
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Conte
authors.forename: Andrea Riccardo
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Genazzani
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012074:Remission Induction / Q000379:methods; D043823:Taxoids / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D043823:Taxoids; D017239:Paclitaxel; D002945:Cisplatin