[Second-line chemotherapy with paclitaxel for ovarian cancer]

The authors summerize the results of second-line combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel (175 mg/m2, 3h) and carboplatin (AUC 5 mg/ml.min) in patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer. The paclitaxel/carboplatin therapy was applied in 57 patients in 297 courses (median course/patient was 5, range 2, 12). Complete response (CR) was found in 3 patients (3/57 = 5%), however the tumorous process progressed after some time. The median progression free interval (PFI) was found to be 15 (range 3,130) weeks, with an average of 24.3 +/- 26.5 weeks. The authors conclude, that second-line paclitaxel combination therapy produces poorer results than the first-line treatment. These results, which are similar to the literature data have led to the agreement: paclitaxel can be applied in ovarian cancer patients only in first-line chemotherapy in Hungary from the year 2000.