Retrospective analysis of the survival benefit of chemotherapy for recurrent or advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma in patients previously treated with paclitaxel plus platinum-based chemotherapy

Aim: The outcomes of treatment for women with recurrent or advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma previously treated with paclitaxel plus platinum-based chemotherapy were analyzed. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed in a total of 65 series of treatments provided for 35 patients with a history of paclitaxel plus platinum-based chemotherapy. The chemotherapy regimens used were classified into the following four types for analysis: conventional paclitaxel plus carboplatin therapy (TC arm), pegylated liposomal doxorubicin-containing regimens (PLD arm), CPT-11-containing regimens (CPT-11 arm), and others. Disease-control rates (DCRs) were compared and subjected to univariate analysis. Progression-free survival (PFS) was determined from the date of the first cycle of each chemotherapy with the Kaplan-Meier method, and comparisons were performed using the log-rank test. Results: DCR was 80%, 71%, and 26% for the TC, PLD, and CPT-11 arms, respectively. The median PFS was 286, 372, and 76 days for the TC, PLD, and CPT-11 arms, respectively. There was no discernible difference in PFS between the TC and the PLD arm. In contrast, PFS of the CPT- 11 arm was significantly shorter than that of the TC and PLD arms. In addition, three of seven (42.9%) treatments in the PLD arm maintained a progression-free period for longer than one year, while only one of 25 (4%) treatments in the TC arm maintained a progression- free period for more than one year. Conclusions: The PFS of PLD is similar to that of TC. PLD-containing regimens might have a potential benefit with a higher PFS over one year than the TC regimen.

CPT-11; Disease control rates; Ovarian carcinoma; Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin; Progression-free survival.

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