[A recurrent ovarian cancer patient who achieved a complete response following irinotecan plus CDDP therapy]

A 78-year-old patient had abdominal bloating since October 2002, and visited a GP, who noticed ascites, and referred the patient to our hospital. An exploratory laparotomy was performed and stage IIIc ovarian cancer was diagnosed. Six courses of docetaxel-carboplatin (DJ) chemotherapy were administered; however, the lesion was assessed as progressive disease (PD), and 24 courses of weekly paclitaxel were then administered. During the follow-up as an outpatient, a tumor marker increased again. Weekly paclitaxel was not effective this time, and the lesion was assessed as PD. The patient therefore received treatment with irinotecan and cisplatin (CPT-11+CDDP). These drugs have different mechanisms of action. The CA 125 level returned to normal following four courses of CPT-11+CDDP. The patient received a total of six courses, and thus far, no obvious recurrent lesion has been observed. These results suggest that CPT-11+CDDP may be effective against recurrent ovarian cancer, which is difficult to treat due to its resistance to platinum drugs and taxane drugs.