Prediction of response to promising first-line chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients with residual peritoneal tumors: practical biomarkers and robust multiplex models.

BACKGROUND: Platinum/taxane (TC) chemotherapy with debulking surgery stays the mainstay of the treatment in ovarian cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis, and recently its novel modality, intraperitoneal carboplatin with dose-dense paclitaxel (ddTCip), was shown to have greater therapeutic impact. Nevertheless, the response varies among patients and consequent recurrence, or relapse often occurs. Discovery of therapeutic response predictor to ddTCip and/or TC therapy is eagerly awaited to improve the treatment outcome. METHODS: Using datasets in 76 participants in our ddTCip study and published databases on patients received TC therapy, we first validated a total of 75 previously suggested markers, sought out more active biomarkers through the association analyses of genome-wide transcriptome and genotyping data with progression-free survival (PFS) and adverse events, and then developed multiplex statistical prediction models for PFS and toxicity by mainly using multiple regression analysis and the classification and regression tree (CART) algorithm. RESULTS: The association analyses revealed that SPINK1 could be a possible biomarker of ddTCip efficacy, while ABCB1 rs1045642 and ERCC1 rs11615 would be a predictor of hematologic toxicity and peripheral neuropathy, respectively. Multiple regression analyses and CART algorithm finally provided a potent efficacy prediction model using 5 gene expression data and robust multiplex toxicity prediction models-CART models using a total of 4 genotype combinations and multiple regression models using 15 polymorphisms on 12 genes. CONCLUSION: Biomarkers and multiplex models composed here could work well in the response prediction of ddTCip and/or TC therapy, which might contribute to realize optimal selection of the key therapy.

A phase 2 study of intraperitoneal carboplatin plus intravenous dose-dense paclitaxel in front-line treatment of suboptimal residual ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the efficacy of intraperitoneal (IP) carboplatin in combination with dose-dense paclitaxel (ddTCip) for suboptimal residual ovarian cancer. METHODS: This was a phase 2 study to evaluate ddTCip. Patients with stage II-IV ovarian carcinoma, who underwent primary cytoreductive surgery and had radiologically evaluable disease after surgery, were eligible to participate in this study. IP carboplatin (AUC = 6) was administered on day 1, and intravenous paclitaxel (80 mg/m2) was administered on days 1, 8 and 15. The primary endpoint was response rate. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and safety. Interval- debulking surgery followed by the same regimen was allowed when indicated. RESULTS: A total of 117 patients were considered eligible for this study prior to surgery and temporarily registered. Of the 117 patients, 76 patients met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in this study. Fifty-nine (83.1%) patients had objective clinical responses. Median PFS and OS were 18.3 and 55.5 months, respectively. Sixty-four (84.2%) patients had grade 3/4 neutropenia, 43 (56.5%) patients had anaemia and 17 (22.4%) patients had thrombocytopenia. Port-related adverse events occurred in nine (11.8%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Front-line chemotherapy with ddTCip therapy appears safe and effective, even for patients with suboptimal residual ovarian cancer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (ID: UMIN000001713) on February 16th, 2009.

The Efficacy of Low-Dose Paclitaxel Added to Combination Chemotherapy of Carboplatin and Gemcitabine or Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin.

OBJECTIVE: Paclitaxel is known to produce the "platelet-sparing effect" that prevents the carboplatin-induced decrease in platelet count. We conducted a pilot study to assess whether the addition of low-dose paclitaxel to carboplatin-based combination chemotherapy prevents thrombocytopenia. METHODS: Patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer received intravenous (IV) paclitaxel at 60 mg/m(2) followed by IV carboplatin at an area under the curve of 6 and IV pegylated liposomal doxorubicin at 30 mg/m(2) on day 1 in a 28-day cycle (DC-LOP) or IV gemcitabine at 1000 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 in a 21-day cycle (GC-LOP). RESULTS: During May 2011 to December 2011, 7 patients received 29 cycles of DC-LOP; during January 2012 to May 2013, 15 patients received 88 cycles of GC-LOP. Grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia occurred in 2 (33%) of 6 and 9 (56%) of 16 patients in the DC-LOP and GC-LOP groups, respectively. No grade 3/4 nonhematological toxicity was observed. Only one patient who received GC-LOP had grade 2 sensory and motor peripheral neuropathy. Paclitaxel-related toxicities, including muscle pain, arthralgia, and peripheral neuropathy, were consistently rare and mild. The response rates of DC-LOP and GC-LOP were 33% (0, complete response; 2, partial response; 3, stable disease; 1, progression disease) and 50% (2, complete response; 6, partial response; 7, stable disease; 1, progression disease), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although low-dose paclitaxel addition did not alleviate thrombocytopenia in the setting of this pilot study, the results do not deny the existence of the "platelet-sparing effect" by low-dose paclitaxel. Further investigation of the carboplatin-based combination chemotherapy including a drug with mild hematological toxicity is warranted.

Feasibility study of combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel, doxorubicin and cisplatin without prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor injection for intermediate-to-high risk or recurrent endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the feasibility of combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel, doxorubicin and cisplatin without prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor injection for intermediate-to-high-risk or recurrent endometrial cancer. METHODS: Women with histologically confirmed FIGO Stages I-II with >1/2 myometrial invasion, Stage III/IV or recurrent endometrial cancer were enrolled. Patients received intravenous doxorubicin (45 mg/m(2)), followed by cisplatin (50 mg/m(2)) on Day 1 and intravenous paclitaxel (160 mg/m(2)) on Day 2. Granisetron (75 µg) was administered depending on neutrophil counts on Days 3 and 8. Treatment was repeated every 21 days for six cycles or until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was the completion rate of the scheduled chemotherapy; secondary endpoints were Grade 3/4 toxicity and response rate in patients with measurable lesions. RESULTS: From September 2010 to December 2012, 35 women, including 7 with FIGO Stage I, 4 with Stage II, 13 with Stage III, 10 with Stage IV and 1 with recurrent endometrial cancer, were enrolled. There were 26 endometrial carcinomas (Grade 1, 16; Grade 2, 6; Grade 3, 4), 4 carcinosarcomas, 2 serous adenocarcinomas, 1 neuroendocrine carcinoma, 1 poorly differentiated carcinoma and 1 mixed carcinoma. Twenty-five patients (71%) completed six chemotherapy cycles. Grade 3/4 hematological toxicities included neutrocytopenia (97%), thrombocytopenia (6%) and anemia (34%). Three patients (9%) experienced neutropenic fever. Grade 3/4 non-hematological toxicities were observed in 13 patients. In 15 patients with evaluable lesions, the response rate was 80%. CONCLUSIONS: Combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel, doxorubicin and cisplatin without prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor injection is feasible.

Intravenous/intraperitoneal paclitaxel and intraperitoneal carboplatin in patients with epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal carcinoma: a feasibility study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate intravenous (IV)/intraperitoneal (IP) paclitaxel and IP carboplatin (TCipTip therapy) feasibility in epithelial ovarian (EOC), fallopian tube (FTC), or peritoneal carcinoma (PC) patients. METHODS: From December 2007 to August 2010, 20 women with histologically confirmed stage IC to IV EOC, FTC, or PC received 6 TCipTip cycles after the primary cytoreductive surgery. Intravenous paclitaxel was administered at 135 mg/m followed by IP carboplatin based on the area under the curve = 6 on day 1; IP paclitaxel at 60 mg/m was administered on day 8. The toxicity grade was determined by CTCAE version 3.0. The institutional review board requested we reduce the IP paclitaxel dose in the first cycle to ensure safety. RESULTS: Twenty women, including 18 with EOC, 1 with stage IIC FTC, and 1 with stage IV primary PC, received TCipTip therapy. There were 12 serous, 5 endometrioid, 1 mucinous, 1 clear cell adenocarcinoma, and 1 mixed carcinoma (clear cell and endometrioid) cases. Eleven women achieved optimal status at primary surgery. Grade 3/4 hematologic toxicity incidence was 73% (neutrocytopenia), 9% (thrombocytopenia), and 24% (anemia). Grade 3/4 nonhematologic toxicities were observed in 5 patients (4 with grade 3 allergy and 1 with grade 3 ileus). Twelve patients (60%) completed more than 6 chemotherapy cycles. Reasons for interruption included paclitaxel allergy, grade 2 abdominal pain, carboplatin allergy during the seventh cycle, disease progression, pleural embolism, ileus, and address change. CONCLUSIONS: Toxicities for TCipTip therapy were acceptable; this therapy is feasible for EOC, FTC, or PC patients. Further TCipTip therapy evaluation is warranted.

Single nedaplatin treatment as salvage chemotherapy for platinum/taxane-resistant/refractory epithelial ovarian, tubal and peritoneal cancers.

AIM: To evaluate toxicity, response and progression-free survival of single nedaplatin chemotherapy in women with platinum/taxane-resistant/refractory epithelial ovarian, tubal and peritoneal cancer. METHODS: Seventeen patients with platinum/taxane-resistant/refractory epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who were treated with a single nedaplatin regimen at 90 mg/m(2) administration on day 1 of a 28-day cycle in our institution between 2005 and 2007 were retrospectively investigated. RESULTS: Ten of 17 patients (59%) had measurable disease. Seven patients were evaluated according to cancer antigen (CA) 125 levels. The overall response was 24% (complete response, 2 patients; partial response, 2 patients). Two of these 4 patients had measurable disease. Stable disease and progressive disease was noted in 6 (35%) and 7 (41%) patients. Median progression-free survival was 8 months (range 3-11) in patients who responded to therapy and 4 months (range 2-6) in patients with stable disease. Mean platinum-free interval due to treatment without using platinum analogues after developing platinum-resistant/refractory disease was 11 months (range 8-12) in patients who responded to nedaplatin regimen and 3 months (range 1-11) in patients who did not (P < 0.01), whereas mean treatment-free interval was 3 months (range 1-5) in responders and 1 month (range 1-3) in non-responders, which did not show a significant difference. Grade 4 hematological toxicity was observed in 2 of 17 patients (12%). No grade 3 or 4 non-hematological toxicity occurred. All toxicities were managed on an outpatient basis. CONCLUSIONS: Single nedaplatin treatment for platinum/taxane-resistant/refractory ovarian, tubal and peritoneal cancer patients is the candidate of salvage chemotherapy with comparable effectiveness and less toxicity to other approved regimens.

Benign and malignant tumor of the uterine body with broccoli sign: MR imaging features for differential diagnosis.

The characteristic morphology called broccoli sign combines a stalk and prolapsed tumor and is a useful diagnostic indicator of prolapsed tumor of the uterine body. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings of broccoli sign are common for uterine submucosal leiomyomata but not well described for other tumors of the endometrial cavity, such as endometrial polyp, atypical polypoid adenomyoma, endometrial carcinoma, carcinosarcoma, and adenosarcoma. Both benign and malignant masses of the uterine body can show broccoli sign. The MR imaging features of prolapsed uterine tumor with broccoli sign resemble those of usual uterine body tumors, but the location is different. We describe the MR imaging features of prolapsed uterine tumors with broccoli sign.

Splenectomy during secondary cytoreductive surgery for epithelial ovarian cancer.

Splenic metastasis from ovarian cancer is unusual. Most splenic metastases are encountered in the setting of widespread visceral metastases. We present 6 cases of splenic metastasis of epithelial ovarian cancer. Three cases underwent a splenectomy as a part of interval debulking surgery, and the rest received a splenectomy as a surgery for recurrent disease. The splenectomies were well-tolerated in all patients and no serious morbidity or mortality resulted. Only one patient experienced a transient elevation in platelet count.