Gemcitabine in ovarian cancer: an overview of safety and efficacy

The outlook for patients with advanced ovarian cancer is still poor. Less than 30% survive for 5 years. The current standard chemotherapy is cisplatin-based combination treatment which gives response rates up to 70%. However, for patients who are resistant to cisplatin, new drugs are required. Response rates are generally low. Even with paclitaxel, remissions have been documented only in 16-30% of patients and with considerable toxicity. A number of studies using gemcitabine as a single agent in cisplatin-resistant patients have been completed or initiated and response rates of around 20% have been recorded. As gemcitabine is well tolerated, studies using gemcitabine combined with paclitaxel and cisplatin in ovarian cancer are ongoing or planned.