The role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced ovarian carcinoma

We retrospectively selected 27 consecutive patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma (15 stage III, 11 stage IV and 1 relapse) who had an unresectable intraabdominal tumor at presentation and prospectively evaluated the overall treatment outcome. Patients were initially treated with chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin-containing regimens in 20 cases, adriamycin and cyclophosphamide in 5, and melphalan in 2. Treatment was continued until maximal tumor response or progression. Following a median of 6 cycles of chemotherapy, all patients underwent debulking surgery. Six women were without evidence of disease and 13 had minimal residual disease after surgery, for an overall 70% rate of optimal debulking. Patients with evidence of disease at laparotomy were treated with 5 additional cycles of chemotherapy, and response was then assessed at laparotomy except for patients with progressive disease. Nine (33%) patients were pathologic complete responders at the end of the entire treatment program. Overall median survival time was 26 months, with a median relapse-free survival of 33 months. Tumor responses were not associated with any particular chemotherapy regimen. The results achieved in this series of patients together with the data from the literature suggests that use of a cytoreductive chemotherapy of short duration has the potential of increasing the rate of optimal debulking surgery. Furthermore, it may contribute to a better disease control in women with bulky ovarian carcinoma compared to the present strategy, which consists of surgery followed by chemotherapy.

Download Full-text

Prognostic Role of Histological Tumor Regression in Patients Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for High-Grade Serous Tubo-ovarian Carcinoma

International Journal of Gynecological Cancer ◽

10.1097/igc.0000000000000945 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 708-713 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Edwina Coghlan ◽

Tarek M. Meniawy ◽

Aime Munro ◽

Max Bulsara ◽

Colin JR Stewart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy ◽

Ovarian Carcinoma ◽

Tumor Regression ◽

Univariate Analysis ◽

Prognostic Significance ◽

Rank Test ◽

Chemotherapy Response ◽

High Grade ◽

Prognostic Role

ObjectiveOur objective was to validate the prognostic role of the chemotherapy response score (CRS), which has been proposed for measuring tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with high-grade serous tubo-ovarian carcinoma, in predicting progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted of patients with advanced high-grade serous tubo-ovarian carcinoma diagnosed between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2014, and treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Treatment-related tumor regression was determined according to the 3-tier CRS, and results were compared with standard clinicopathological variables. Survival analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazards models and the log-rank test.ResultsSeventy-one patients were eligible for analysis. Median OS was 25.5 months. Fifty-eight patients (82%) had disease recurrence and 32 (45%) had died at study census. Of the 71 patients, 19, 29, and 23 patients had a CRS of 1, 2, and 3, respectively. On univariate analysis, the CRS significantly predicted PFS (hazard ratio [HR], 3.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.83–7.78; P = 0.000) and OS (HR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.16–6.79; P = 0.022). In a multivariate model, the CRS was significantly associated with PFS (HR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.16–6.79; P = 0.022) but not with OS (HR, 2.39; 95% CI, 0.47–3.08; P = 0.079). Patients with CRS of 1 and 2 combined were twice as likely to progress during the study period compared with patients with a CRS of 3 (HR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.06–3.78; P = 0.032; median PFS, 16 vs 26 months). No significant association was observed for OS (CRS 1/2 vs 3; HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 0.68–3.65; P = 0.291).ConclusionsIn this study, the CRS showed independent prognostic significance for PFS but not for OS.

Download Full-text