Chemotherapy for ovarian cancer: Current concepts

The role of hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis in recurrent ovarian cancer

“…Peritoneal cancer index average (mean PCI) was of 13±6 in both groups with a range of 6-24 in the HIPEC group and 7-21 in the non-HIPEC group. As regards to the postoperative mean time at the hospital, the average was about 14±4 days (range [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] in the HIPEC group opposed to 10±4 days (range [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] in the non-HIPEC group.…”

“…In this sense, different aspects are relevant in the present study. We have used taxanes, such as cytostatic paclitaxel, which have demonstrated powerful activity against ovarian cancer, improved pharmacokinetics by intraperitoneal administration and limited secondary effects [19][20][21][22]. We were pioneering surgeons in its administration and it has recently been recognised as useful during HIPEC [23,24], although at the beginning it was very controversial.…”

In vitro analysis of ovarian cancer response to cisplatin, carboplatin, and paclitaxel identifies common pathways that are also associated with overall patient survival

“…In 2010 in the United States alone, approximately 22 000 women had been predicted to be diagnosed with OVCA, with an estimated 14 000 women dying of their disease (Jemal et al , 2010). This high mortality is attributed not only to the advanced stage (III/IV) at diagnosis observed for most patients (Herrin and Thigpen, 1999) but also to limited treatment options available for patients who develop acquired resistance to chemotherapy.…”

Introduction

“…1,2 The 1998 consensus statement further classifies the disease in three groups: (1) refractory disease, if tumor progression occurs during treatment or with a treatment-free interval (TFI) less than 4 months; and (2) intermediate group, if TFI is 4 to 12 months, and sensitive recurrent disease, if TFI is greater than 12 months (Table 1). 3 As shown in Figure 1, approximately 8% of patients relapse with platinum refractory disease, 20% with platinum intermediate disease, and 50% with platinum-sensitive disease.…”