This Helps Some With Advanced Ovarian Cancer

This Helps Some With Advanced Ovarian Cancer

Study found using both abdomen drip and IV delayed progression of disease

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

SATURDAY, June 4, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Some women with advanced ovarian cancer may fare better if chemotherapy is dripped directly into their abdomens as well as introduced into their bloodstream through traditional IV, a new study finds.

Clinical trial results show the combination of abdominal and IV chemotherapy can slow the progression of ovarian cancer better than IV chemo by itself in women who already have had surgery to remove all or nearly all of their cancer.

Close to 77 percent of women who got combination treatment had at least a nine-month delay in the progression of their cancer, compared with slightly less than 58 percent of women who received IV therapy alone.

Average overall survival also was longer, 59 months versus 38 months, respectively. However, the researchers said the difference was not statistically significant.

Progression-free survival was similar between the two groups, amounting to slightly more than 11 months with IV chemotherapy compared with 12.5 months from IV/abdominal chemotherapy, the findings showed.

Nevertheless, these statistics support using IV/abdominal chemotherapy in certain patients, said Dr. Don Dizon, director of medical oncology for the women's oncology program at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island. He was not involved in the study.

Women taking this path first receive traditional chemotherapy to reduce the size of their tumor, and then undergo surgery to have as much of their cancer removed as possible, Dizon explained.

A port is then installed into their bellies to allow chemotherapy to drip directly into their abdominal cavities, he said. They also receive chemotherapy via IV.

"I think this represents a very valid option for this population, who are receiving primary chemotherapy before surgery and then have successful surgery," Dizon said. "I think you need to mention this option and these data when discussing treatment with those patients."

The researchers will continue to track the patients in this study in hopes of figuring out the best potential recipients of this combination therapy, said presenting researcher Dr. Helen Mackay. She is divisional head of medical oncology and hematology at the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Center in Toronto.

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