Effects of third-line chemotherapy for women with recurrent ovarian cancer who received platinum/taxane regimens as first-line chemotherapy

• Published in: European journal of gynaecological oncology Vol. 31; no. 4; p. 364
• Main Authors: Chiyoda, T, Tsuda, H, Nomura, H, Kataoka, F, Tominaga, E, Suzuki, A, Susumu, N, Aoki, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Italy 2010
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Bridged-Ring Compounds - administration & dosage; Cisplatin - administration & dosage; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - drug therapy; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial - drug therapy; Ovarian Neoplasms - drug therapy; Ovarian Neoplasms - mortality; Retrospective Studies; Taxoids - administration & dosage
• ISSN: 0392-2936

At present, it remains unclear whether the third-line chemotherapy has clinical benefit. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the effect of third-line chemotherapy. We reviewed the medical records of 40 women with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) who received third-line chemotherapy after platinum/taxan regimens as first line chemotherapy. In the first recurrence, 23 cases were platinum-sensitive and 17 cases were platinum-resistant. The cases for which the treatment-free interval from second-line chemotherapy (TFI) was a 3 months had a higher non-PD rate than those with TFI < 3 months (86% vs 33%, p = 0.002). In addition, the median overall survival (OS) was longer for TFI > or = 3 months than for TFI < 3 months (1195 days vs 235 days, p = 0.004). Finally, TFI was an independent significant prognostic factor by univariate (HR 3.28, p = 0.006) and multivariate (HR 3.21, p = 0.018) proportional hazard tests. TFI from second-line chemotherapy may predict a survival benefit of third-line chemotherapy.