Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2026
Murine Model for Non-invasive Imaging to Detect and Monitor Ovarian Cancer Recurrence
Published on: November 2, 2014
Phase II study of gemcitabine and weekly paclitaxel in recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer
Agustin A Garcia1, Anne O'Meara, Ashim Bahador
1University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Kenneth Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. Agustin.Garcia@cshs.org
Objective:
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the activity of gemcitabine and weekly paclitaxel in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
Methods:
Thirty-five patients with platinum-resistant disease and prior treatment with paclitaxel received treatment with paclitaxel 80 mg/m(2) IV over 60 min, followed by gemcitabine 1000 mg/m(2) IV administered on days 1, 8, and 15. Cycles were repeated every 4 weeks.
Results:
All patients had platinum-resistant disease and all had received prior treatment with paclitaxel. Patients were heavily pretreated as the median number of chemotherapy regimens for recurrent disease was 2 (0-3). The overall response rate was 40% (95% confidence intervals (24%, 58%) and 37% of patients achieved stable disease. The median time to progression was 5.7 months (95% CI, 4.6, 8.5) and median overall survival 13.1 months (95% CI, 10.6, 15.9). More than 50% of patients were alive at 12 months, including six patients (17%) who were alive at 24 months. Treatment was well tolerated. Grades 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 17 patients (48.5%), grade 3 thrombocytopenia in 7 (20%), grade 3 anemia in 3 (8.5%). The most common serious non-hematological toxicities were nausea (14%), vomiting (14%), and fatigue (34%).
Conclusions:
The regimen of weekly paclitaxel and gemcitabine exhibits significant activity in heavily pretreated patients, is well tolerated, and is associated with encouraging survival. This regimen should be considered as a treatment option in patients with chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer.
