Gemcitabine salvage chemotherapy for patients with gynecologic malignancies of the ovary, fallopian tube, and peritoneum.

Abstract

The efficacy and toxicity of gemcitabine salvage chemotherapy was evaluated in 27 heavily pretreated patients with recurrent and progressive ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer. At least one platinum-based chemotherapeutic regimen had failed in each patient. The median number of previous chemotherapy regimens and cycles of chemotherapy was 4 and 23, respectively. A total of 124 cycles of gemcitabine were delivered (median, 3 cycles). Hematologic toxicity included four patients with grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia and two patients with grade 3/4 neutropenia. Thrombocytopenia and neutropenia resulted in eight dose reductions and a single 1-week treatment delay. Nonhematologic side effects were well tolerated and largely self-limiting. No complete responses were observed. Three patients (11%) demonstrated partial responses to therapy. The duration of response was 7 months for two of the responders and 5 months for the third responder. Stable disease was observed in 14 patients (52%), in whom the median progression-free interval was 5 months. In conclusion, among heavily pretreated patients, gemcitabine has limited antitumor activity in platinum-resistant carcinomas of the ovary, fallopian tube, and peritoneum. The role of gemcitabine in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies of the ovary, fallopian tube, and peritoneum will be determined by studies that define the efficacy of multiagent regimens of chemotherapy that include gemcitabine and by studies that include patients who have been less heavily pretreated.