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High-Dose Therapy for Ovarian Carcinoma
1Division of Hematology-Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, USA. seiden.michael@mgh.harvard.edu
The Oncologist
|January 1, 1997
Summary
High-dose chemotherapy offers prolonged disease-free survival for select ovarian cancer patients but requires further investigation due to toxicity and cost. Standard treatments rarely achieve a cure.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Gynecologic Oncology
- Cancer Treatment
Background:
- Epithelial ovarian carcinomas are challenging to cure with standard platinum-based chemotherapy.
- Ongoing research explores high-dose chemotherapy for ovarian cancer treatment strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose chemotherapy, including stem cell transplantation, in epithelial ovarian cancer.
- To determine the role of dose escalation in platinum-based chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical studies on high-dose chemotherapy regimens for ovarian cancer.
- Analysis of outcomes associated with dose-escalated platinum therapy.
- Examination of very high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell or bone marrow transplantation.
Main Results:
- Modest platinum dose increases in primary induction therapy show limited survival benefits and increased toxicity.
- Very high-dose chemotherapy with transplantation can yield prolonged disease-free survival in selected patients with low-volume, sensitive disease.
Conclusions:
- High-dose chemotherapy, particularly with transplantation, shows promise for a subset of ovarian cancer patients.
- Further clinical investigation is needed to define the optimal use of expensive and toxic high-dose regimens in ovarian cancer treatment.