Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2010 Mar;116(3):301-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2009.10.073. Epub 2009 Nov 28.

The potential benefit of 6 vs. 3 cycles of chemotherapy in subsets of women with early-stage high-risk epithelial ovarian cancer: an exploratory analysis of a Gynecologic Oncology Group study

John K Chan  1 , Chunqiao Tian, Gini F Fleming, Bradley J Monk, Thomas J Herzog, Daniel S Kapp, Jeffrey Bell
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The potential benefit of 6 vs. 3 cycles of chemotherapy in subsets of women with early-stage high-risk epithelial ovarian cancer: an exploratory analysis of a Gynecologic Oncology Group study

John K Chan et al. Gynecol Oncol. 2010 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: A prior clinical trial on early-stage high risk ovarian cancer showed a lower recurrence rate in those treated with six vs. three cycles of chemotherapy. We proposed to identify subsets of patients who may benefit from more cycles of chemotherapy.

Methods: Outcomes of patients who underwent six vs. three cycles of chemotherapy were analyzed based on clinico-pathologic factors. Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox Regression Model were used for analyses.

Results: Of 427 patients (median age: 55 years), 69% had stage I disease, 30% had clear cell, 25% endometrioid, 23% serous, 7% mucinous, and 15% had other cell types. The risk of recurrence in those who had six vs. three cycles of chemotherapy was not different based on age, performance status, stage, grade of disease, presence of ascites, tumor rupture, or positive cytology. However, those with serous tumors had a significantly lower risk of recurrence after six vs. three cycles of chemotherapy (HR=0.33, CI=0.14-0.77; p=0.04) in contrast to non-serous tumors (HR=0.94, CI=0.60-1.49). Nevertheless, a test of homogeneity did not show a difference in treatment effects across cell types (p=0.285). Of those with serous tumors, the 5-year recurrence-free survival was 83% and 60% in those who received six vs. three cycles of chemotherapy, respectively (p=0.007).

Conclusions: In this exploratory analysis of early-stage high risk ovarian cancer, our data suggest that six rather than three cycles of chemotherapy may decrease the recurrence of patients with serous tumors. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

-