In Brief

Extract

Intra-Abdominal Chemotherapy Recommended in Advanced Ovarian Cancer

The National Cancer Institute has issued a clinical announcement recommending a combination of intravenous (IV) and intra-abdominal chemotherapy for women with advanced ovarian cancer.

Traditional treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer includes surgery to remove the tumor followed by IV treatment with a platinum drug such as cisplatin or carboplatin, followed by treatment with a taxane drug, such as paclitaxel. Deborah Armstrong, M.D., at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a clinical trial in 429 women with advanced ovarian cancer who were treated either with IV paclitaxel followed by IV cisplatin or with IV paclitaxel followed by intraperitoneal (IP, delivered directly into the abdomen) cisplatin and subsequent IP paclitaxel.

Women who received IV paclitaxel followed by IP cisplatin and subsequent IP paclitaxel survived an average of 16 months longer than women treated with IV paclitaxel and cisplatin. Although women who underwent IP chemotherapy experienced more side effects, those side effects appeared temporary and manageable.