[High dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation in ovarian adenocarcinoma]

The present treatment of advanced ovarian adenocarcinoma patients is unsatisfactory, with 5-year survival rates of less than 15%. To obtain better results, one possibility is the use of therapeutic intensification with autologous bone marrow support. In effect, there is a known dose-response relationship in ovarian carcinoma, especially with alkylating agents. To date, a 69% response rate has been achieved with this kind of treatment in 39 patients refractory to standard therapy. However, responses are of short duration, with a median range of 6-7 months. Therapeutic intensification has been used in over 100 patients, as consolidation therapy, following first-line chemotherapy. For these patients, projected 3-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates are 30-50% and 20-40% respectively. These results compare favorably to those of standard therapy. Early deaths are more frequent in refractory patients (18%). Complete hematological recovery usually occurred within 3-4 weeks. Extra-hematological toxicity is related to previous treatment and to cytotoxic drugs used during intensification. These preliminary results, limited to a small series of patients, are sufficiently promising to continue and extend these trials.