A phase II study of high-dose epirubicin in ovarian cancer patients previously treated with cisplatin

Abstract

It is concluded that HDE is active in platinum-pretreated patients with epithelial ovarian cancer and should be further studied in first-line in combination with paclitaxel and a platinum compound.

The role of anthracyclines in second-line therapy of ovarian cancer

“…In the 34 patients who had progressed during first-line chemotherapy, the response rate to EPI was 15%; in the 17 patients with persistent disease, it was 12%; and in the 49 patients who relapsed after an initial response, it was 27% (22) . A further subdivision related to the cisplatin-free interval in the 83 patients who progressed before entry into the HDE trial indicated that not only the response rate but also the time to (18,22) 215 0-32 Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (23) 788 9-31 Idarubicin (18) 47 0 Esorubicin (18) 61 5 Menogaril (18) 51 14 Aclacinomycin (18) 14 0 progression during EPI treatment was strikingly different in patients with a long (>12 months) cisplatin-free interval. In patients who relapsed 6-12 months after the end of first-line chemotherapy, the response to EPI was 20% and the median time to progression was 14 weeks, whereas in those who relapsed beyond 12 months, the response rate was 41% and the median time to progression 25 weeks.…”

“…In a large phase II study with higher doses of EPI (HDE: 150-180 mg/m 2 , n ¼ 100), in which all patients had received cisplatinbased chemotherapy in first-line, Vermorken et al (22) reported an overall response rate of 20%. In the 34 patients who had progressed during first-line chemotherapy, the response rate to EPI was 15%; in the 17 patients with persistent disease, it was 12%; and in the 49 patients who relapsed after an initial response, it was 27% (22) . A further subdivision related to the cisplatin-free interval in the 83 patients who progressed before entry into the HDE trial indicated that not only the response rate but also the time to (18,22) 215 0-32 Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (23) 788 9-31 Idarubicin (18) 47 0 Esorubicin (18) 61 5 Menogaril (18) 51 14 Aclacinomycin (18) 14 0 progression during EPI treatment was strikingly different in patients with a long (>12 months) cisplatin-free interval.…”

“…The single‐agent activity of different ANTs is summarized in Table 1. Apart from the results with EPI in some studies ( 18, 22 ) and the more recent data on PLD ( 23 ) , the results with other ANTs in platinum‐pretreated patients have been rather disappointing. Indeed, EPI and PLD appear to be the two most promising compounds.…”

“…Second-line single-agent activity in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer and its relationship with platinum sensitivity22,23,26,27 …”

Epidoxorubicin versus no treatment as consolidation therapy in advanced ovarian cancer: results from a phase II study

“…We chose epidoxorubicin for its no cross-resistant activity against drugs received as front-line treatment. Further, epidoxorubicin is a well-known manageable drug, either used alone or in combination regimens as second-line therapy of epithelial ovarian cancer (11) .…”