Survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer treated with intermittent chemotherapy following cytoreductive surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy

Background. The purpose of this study was to report the duration of the progression-free interval (PFI) in advanced ovarian cancer patients who were treated with intermittent maintenance chemotherapy. Methods. Between 1991 and 1998, 25 patients with stage III or IV ovarian cancer were enrolled in a trial of intermittent maintenance chemotherapy. All patients underwent cytoreduction surgery, and received adjuvant chemotherapy, after which they were treated with intermittent maintenance chemotherapy every 3 to 4 months for 2 years. Results. The median PFI in the 25 women in the intermittent chemotherapy group was 25 months, while in the 32 patients in the control group it was 18 months (P = 0.0124). The median survival of women treated with the intermittent chemotherapy was 34 months, and for the control group patients, it was 35 months (P = 0.0672). Multivariate analysis in the intermittent chemotherapy group revealed that the only factor that correlated significantly with PFI was the status after adjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.0137). In patients with no evidence of disease after the adjuvant chemotherapy, the median survival was 39 months in the intermittent chemotherapy group, and 35 months in the control group (P = 0.0156). The median PFI was 28 months in the intermittent chemotherapy group, and 18 months in the control group (P = 0.0012). Conclusion. It would be warranted to perform intermittent maintenance chemotherapy for patients with advanced ovarian cancer, if a clinically disease-free status could be achieved after completion of the standard treatment procedure. Received: September 3, 2001 / Accepted: December 19, 2001