Cisplatin and cyclophosphamide in advanced ovarian carcinoma: Activity and toxicity of an ambulatory regimen

Chemotherapy with cisplatin (CDDP, 90 mg/m²) and cyclophosphamide (CTX, 600 mg/m²) was administered to 54 consecutive patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (37 stage III and 17 stage IV). In 51 patients, surgery was performed prior to chemotherapy. Of the 37 stage III patients, 13 had only minimal residual disease after surgical debulking. The overall response rate was 69%, with 44% patients achieving clinical (cCR; n = 2) or pathological (pCR; n = 20) complete response. Median follow-up and overall survival time was 26 months, and median CR duration was 30 months. CR was achieved in 6 of 14 patients (43%) who were partial responders after five cycles of chemotherapy and had continued treatment for three to five more cycles. Severe bone marrow toxicity or renal function impairment was never observed, but eight patients presented peripheral signs of dose-related neurotoxicity. These findings indicate that CDDP and CTX in combination are an effective treatment for patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma, and can be administered with tolerable toxicity. In selected cases, prolonged chemotherapy administration can result in durable complete remissions.