Docetaxel in the treatment of ovarian cancer

Docetaxel (Taxotere) has extended the armamentarium of agents with significant activity in the treatment of ovarian cancer. As a single agent in advanced ovarian cancer patients previously treated with a platinum agent, docetaxel at 100 mg/m2 every 3 weeks yields a 30% overall response rate and a 6-month duration of response. In vitro data demonstrate a lack of complete cross-resistance between docetaxel and paclitaxel. As a result, antitumor activity has also been demonstrated in patients refractory to a paclitaxel-containing regimen. In both platinum- and paclitaxel-pretreated patients, the highest response rates were obtained in patients with the longest interval of time since receipt of prior chemotherapy. Docetaxel has been successfully combined with the platinum salts for the first-line treatment of ovarian cancer patients. In combination with cisplatin, response rates of 69% were reported. In an effort to minimize hematologic toxicities and asthenia associated with the cisplatin/docetaxel combination, investigators have substituted carboplatin (Paraplatin) for cisplatin. Several phase II studies and the Scottish Randomized Trial in Ovarian Cancer (SCOTROC), a large phase III randomized trial, of the docetaxel/ carboplatin combination have been completed. The most frequent toxicity noted is neutropenia, which is generally of brief duration, predictable, and manageable. The docetaxel/carboplatin combination has a notably low rate of neurotoxicity. Therefore, the SCOTROC comparative trial, demonstrating equivalent overall response rates and progression-free survival rates, suggests that the docetaxel/carboplatin combination may represent a new alternative to paclitaxel/carboplatin as first-line chemotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer.