EVIDENCE THAT A TREATMENT-FREE INTERVAL OF LESS-THAN 6 MONTHS DOES NOT EQUATE WITH CLINICALLY DEFINED PLATINUM RESISTANCE IN OVARIAN-CANCEROR PRIMARY PERITONEAL CARCINOMA

The standard definition of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer or primar y peritoneal carcinoma commonly includes patients whose disease initia lly responded to a platinum-based combination regimen, but recurred le ss than 6 months after the completion of primary therapy. Recent exper ience with several patients with these malignancies treated in the Gyn ecologic Cancer Program of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, whose dise ase recurred within this period but who subsequently responded to plat inum therapy, calls into question the validity and clinical relevance of this commonly employed definition, both for the conduct of phase 2 trials of new agents in ovarian cancer and primary peritoneal carcinom a, and for the standard management of women in this clinical setting.