Activity of Gemcitabine in Patients with Advanced Ovarian Cancer: Responses Seen Following Platinum and Paclitaxel

A phase II feasibility study of carboplatin followed by sequential weekly paclitaxel and gemcitabine as first-line treatment for ovarian cancer

“…In a small study of chemonaive patients, single-agent gemcitabine produced a modest overall response rate of 18% (D'Agostino et al, 2003). In patients with platinumpretreated, relapsed ovarian cancer, response rates ranged from 13 to 28%, which are comparable with those of other agents (e.g., topotecan, liposomal doxorubicin, and paclitaxel) in a similar patient population (Lund et al, 1994;Shapiro et al, 1996;Friedlander et al, 1998;Silver and Piver, 1999;von Minckwitz et al, 1999;Underhill et al, 2001). Gemcitabine is generally well tolerated with common toxicities including myelosuppression, lethargy, flu-like symptoms, peripheral oedema, and skin rashes.…”

Salvage Chemotherapy in Recurrent Platinum-Resistant or Refractory Epithelial Ovarian Cancer with Carboplatin and Distearoylphosphatidylcholine Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin (Lipo-Dox®)

“…Unfortunately, although the majority of advanced ovarian cancer patients (70-80%) respond to platinum-based chemotherapy, half of the complete responders will subsequently experience recurrent diseases. In patients whose ovarian cancer are platinum-refractory (cancer has progressed while on a platinum-based regimen) or platinum-resistant (cancer has recurred within 6 months of completion of a platinumbased regimen), a number of single agent anti-neoplastic drugs that have been documented to produce objective response rates in more than 10% of the treated population namely topotecan, liposomal doxorubicin, vinorelbine, docetaxel, gemcitabine, oral etoposide and melphalan are currently available as salvage treatment (Shapiro et al, 1996;Bookman et al, 1998;Rose et al, 1998) Doxorubicin has a wide spectrum of activity in human malignant tumors and is considered one of the active chemotherapeutic agents for advanced ovarian cancer (Fanning, 1992;A'Hern and Gore, 1995). Before the paclitaxel era, doxorubicin in combination with cisplatin and cyclophosphamide had been the standard treatment for epithelial ovarian cancer (Williams, 1992).…”

Cancer of the ovary, fallopian tube, and peritoneum

“…There are a number of chemotherapy options including liposomal doxorubicin [81], topotecan [81], etoposide [82,83], and gemcitabine [84,85]. The reported response rates are low, about 10%, with a median time to progression of 3-4 months and a median survival of 9-12 months.…”