Advanced ovarian cancer in the elderly: results of consecutive trials with cisplatin-based chemotherapy

✍ Scribed by Silvana Chiara; Rita Lionetto; Maura Vincenti; Milena Bruzzone; Maria Teresa Nobile; Angiolo Gadducci; Flavio Carnino; Riccardo Rosso; PierFranco Conte

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 85 KB
• Volume: 37
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1040-8428
• DOI: 10.1016/s1040-8428(00)00088-3

✦ Synopsis

From 1982 through 1996, 547 untreated advanced ovarian cancer patients were entered onto Gruppo Oncologico Nord-Ovest (GONO) consecutive randomized trials including cisplatin-based chemotherapy. End points of analysis included the influence of age on prognosis, toxicity, clinical/surgical response rates, progression-free survival and survival. Of the entire study group, 116 patients were 65 years of age or older at diagnosis. WHO main toxicity (any grade) consisted of: emesis (93% of patients), myelotoxicity (leukopenia in 52%, anemia in 51% and thrombocytopenia in 17% of patients), nephrotoxicity in 13% of patients and neurotoxicity in 10% of patients. No significant difference in toxicity was evident between patients > or = or <65 years. Refusal of CT and early (< or =2 courses) interruption of CT due to toxicity were more frequent in elderly patients (3.4 vs. 1.4%; 3.4 vs. 0.7%, respectively). After a median follow-up of 71 months no difference was observed in survival and progression-free survival between younger and older patients. Cox multiple regression analysis of the entire study population demonstrated that age >65 years per se was not a negative prognostic factor.