Oral etoposide for refractory or recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer

To study the response rate (RR), toxicity, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) of the patients with recurrent or refractory epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), who had oral etoposide at dosage of 75 mg/day.

Patients with recurrent or refractory EOC who were treated with oral etoposide between January 1998 and December 2007 were identified from the Archive of the Gynecologic Oncology Unit of the institution. Clinical and pathological data were reviewed.

During the present study period, 38 patients receiving oral etoposide were identified. Median age was 51 years (range, 33-72 years). Seven patients could not tolerate chemotherapy side effects during the first cycle, leaving 31 patients evaluable for response. The overall RR was 25.8% (8/31 patients), 19.4% complete (6/31) and 6.4% partial responses (2/31). Stable diseases were demonstrated in 19.4% (6/31) while progressive diseases were found in 54.8% (17/31). The median PFS was 4.8 months (range, 3.3-6.4 months) with 2-year PFS of 16.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1-31.4%) while median OS was 12.0 months (range, 0.75-25.5 months) and 2-year OS was 36.4% (95% CI, 17.4-55.3%). The main toxicity was gastrointestinal side effect.

Oral etoposide at a daily dosage of 75 mg is an active agent for refractory or recurrent EOC. Gastrointestinal symptom is the most common side effect. This oral chemotherapeutic agent has some advantages over other drugs in terms of convenience for administration and fewer visits.