PHASE-II STUDY OF PROLONGED ORAL ETOPOSIDE IN PATIENTS WITH OVARIAN-CANCER REFRACTORY TO OR RELAPSING WITHIN 12 MONTHS AFTER PLATINUM-CONTAINING CHEMOTHERAPY

Patients and methods: Twenty-eight patients with ovarian cancer refrac tory to or relapsing within 12 months after cisplatin-containing chemo therapy were treated with etoposide 50 mg/m2 daily for 21 days, follow ed by a 7-day break. Results: Of 25 evaluable patients, 4 achieved par tial responses (16%, 95% confidence interval 5%-36%) of 4, 4, 7, and 1 0 months' duration. The platinum treatment-free intervals for these pa tients were 2, 9, 7, and 10 months, respectively. Etoposide in this sc hedule was generally well tolerated, with mylosuppression as the major toxicity, resulting in a median dose intensity over all cycles of 83% (range 47%-100%). Conclusions: Prolonged oral etoposide is moderately active both in relapsed and platinum-refractory ovarian cancer, and a schedule of 50 mg/m2 days 1-21, every 4 weeks is fairly well tolerate d in this usually heavily pretreated and elderly patient population.