Second-line chemotherapy with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and carboplatin is highly effective in patients with advanced ovarian cancer in late relapse: a GINECO phase II trial

Background: Platinum-based chemotherapy is standard second-line treatment of patients with advanced ovarian cancer (AOC) in late relapse. Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) has significant single-agent activity in this setting. Therefore, we evaluated the use of PLD plus carboplatin in this patient population. Patients and methods: PLD 30 mg/m(2) followed by carboplatin at area under the curve (AUC) 5 mg.min/ml, repeated every 28 days for a maximum of nine cycles, was administered to 104 women with AOC relapsing >= 6 months after completion of first- or second-line therapy with platinum-taxane-based regimens. Results: Overall response was 63%, with a 38% complete response, median progression-free survival of 9.4 months, and median overall survival (OS) of 32 months. Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia occurred in 51% of patients, but febrile neutropenia in only 3%. Nonhematologic toxic effects were primarily grades 1 and 2, with low rates of alopecia and neurotoxicity. Conclusions: PLD plus carboplatin is highly effective, prolongs OS, and is well tolerated in women with AOC in late relapse previously treated with both platinum and taxanes. Evaluation of this regimen in phase III trials is warranted.