[Experience with gemcitabine-carboplatin chemotherapy in relapsed ovarian cancer].
Despite the progress that has been achieved in the primary therapy of ovarian cancer, unfortunately, the disease relapses resulting death in a lot of patients. This is the rationale for several new chemotherapy trials, however the expected results are awaited yet. The pyrimidine analogue drug gemcitabine belongs also to this group of hopeful therapies to increase the outcomes.


METHODS
22 patients with platinum-resistant, recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma, were treated with gemcitabine, in 98 courses in the Gynecologic Department at National Institute of Oncology, Budapest. Gemcitabine was applied in combination chemotherapy with carboplatin in the 2-8th line with the gemcitabine dose of 1000 mg/qm/d 1, 8 and carboplatin dose of AUC 4/d 1, in 3 week courses. Progression free interval was calculated by GraphPad Prism (version 2.0) program.


RESULTS
A 39% overall response and a median 3 months progression free interval were resulted. Complete response was found only in one patient.


CONCLUSIONS
Combination therapy with gemcitabine and carboplatin showed only limited responses in the authors' relapsed ovarian cancer patients. It seems to authors the lesser progression free interval is resulted by the resistant clones of the tumour due to the several (median 4) unsuccessful previous chemotherapies. The authors' early experience with gemcitabine underlines the good tolerability and the possibility of outpatient administration of the drug as well.
Lehoczky
Ottó
O
Országos Onkológiai Intézet Nogyógyászati Osztály, Budapest. lehoczky@oncol.hu
Pulay
Tamás
T
D000368:Aged; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016190:Carboplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000093542:Gemcitabine
D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D016190:Carboplatin; D000093542:Gemcitabine