Preliminary Results of trials of chemotherapy in advanced ovarian carcinoma

A search for improved forms of systemic chemotherapy in advanced ovarian carcinoma has resulted in two prospective trials at the Medicine Branch National Cancer Institute. The first trial compared high-dose, split-course intravenous cyclophosphamide with conventional treatment with an oral alkylating agent, melphalan [also called L-phenylalanine mustard (PAM)]. While both regimens were essentially equal in therapeutic efficacy, the former was considerably more toxic and the latter was therefore preferred. The second trial employed a 4-drug combination (5-fluorouracil, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, and hexamethylmelamine); the results indicated a higher overall response rate (85%) and a higher complete remission rate (31%) with the combination therapy than with the PAM therapy, although the study is short and the observations are preliminary.