What is the role of interval blood testing in the management of chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancies.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To determine the safety of omitting routine interval laboratory assessments, dietary restrictions, and isolation precautions between cycles of chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancies. METHODS: Data were retrospectively obtained from the records of women receiving chemotherapy for gynecologic cancer from July 1999-June 2000. Routine nadir determinations were not performed between treatment cycles; social interaction was encouraged, and pathogen-free diet recommendations were not provided. RESULTS: Eighty women received 449 cycles of chemotherapy. Four (5%) patients developed neutropenic fevers, and one of these women succumbed to sepsis. Eighteen (22.5%) women had 29 cycles delayed due to persistent myelosuppression when the ensuing chemotherapy infusion was to be administered. Hematopoietic growth factors overcame these delays during subsequent cycles in all but two patients. CONCLUSION: Omitting scheduled interval laboratory monitoring, dietary restrictions, and isolation precautions between chemotherapy cycles is convenient for patients, likely cost-effective, and does not increase morbidity in the gynecologic oncology population.