TITLE:
Three Weeks Carboplatin/Paclitaxel versus Weekly Regimen in Egyptian Women Cohort Treated for Ovarian Carcinoma
AUTHORS:
A. Mounir, E. E. Ibrahim
KEYWORDS:
Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma, Carboplatin/Paclitaxel, Weekly versus Every Three Weeks
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.12 No.2,
February
19,
2021
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma (EOC) comprises the vast
majority (almost 90%) of ovarian carcinomas. Chemotherapy is the main treatment
in ovarian cancers. The standard of care in the chemotherapeutic is the combination
of a platinum (carboplatin or cisplatin) and a taxane (paclitaxel or docetaxel).
Studies were done to determine whether this combination to be given weekly or every
3 weeks. Patient and Method: Inclusion criteria: 1) Female patients between
the ages of 17 - 78 years. 2) Baseline hematological, renal and liver laboratory
profiles were within accepted ranges. 3) Performance status of the patients was
0-II. 4) Patients were pathologically proven ovarian cancer. 5) A follow-up period
for at least 6 months was required. Exclusion criteria: 1) Patients who had double
malignancy were excluded. 2) Performance status more than II. 3) Other comorbidity. Results: We reviewed 69 female patients with EOC, with 60% received every
three weeks regimen. Mean age was 53.22 years. At a median follow up of 45.9 months,
there was no significant different between the two protocols in terms of mean PFS,
62.35 months (95% CI: 50.08 - 74.63 months) for the three-weekly cohort, and 69.25
months (95% CI: 55.24 - 83.26 months) for weekly protocol (p = 0.613). The three
weekly regimen patients had a higher incidence of hospital admission (40% vs 18.5%
for the weekly protocol patients), but it didn’t reach a statistical significance
(p = 0.063). The three weekly protocol had a significantly higher incidence of causing
a neutropenic fever (p = 0.003). Conclusion: In our cohort of Egyptian women
with EOC, no significant difference in PFS was found when compared the weekly Carboplatin/paclitaxel
when compared to the classic three weeks, although the weekly protocol may be causing
less febrile neutropenia and fewer hospital admissions.