A phase I dose-finding study of a combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil) carboplatin and paclitaxel in ovarian cancer

摘要

Standard chemotherapy for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer is a combination of platinum-paclitaxel. One strategy to improve the outcome for patients is to add other agents to standard therapy. Doxil is active in relapsed disease and has a response rate of 25% in platinum-resistant relapsed disease. A dose finding study of doxil-carboplatin-paclitaxel was therefore undertaken in women receiving first-line therapy. Thirty-one women with epithelial ovarian cancer or mixed Mullerian tumours of the ovary were enrolled. The doses of carboplatin, paclitaxel and doxil were as follows: carboplatin AUC 5 and 6; paclitaxel, 135 and 175 mg m⁻²; doxil 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg m⁻². Schedules examined included treatment cycles of 21 and 28 days, and an alternating schedule of carboplatin-paclitaxel (q 21) with doxil being administered every other course (q 42). The dose-limiting toxicities were found to be neutropenia, stomatitis and palmar plantar syndrome and the maximum tolerated dose was defined as; carboplatin AUC 5, paclitaxel 175 mg m⁻² and doxil 30 mg m⁻² q 21. Reducing the paclitaxel dose to 135 mg m⁻² did not allow the doxil dose to be increased. Delivering doxil on alternate cycles at doses of 40 and 50 mg m⁻² also resulted in dose-limiting toxicities. The recommended doses for phase II/III trials are carboplatin AUC 6, paclitaxel 175 mg m⁻², doxil 30 mg m⁻² q 28 or carboplatin AUC 5, paclitaxel 175 mg m⁻², doxil 20 mg m⁻² q 21. Grade 3/4 haematologic toxicity was common at the recommended phase II doses but was short lived and not clinically important and non-haematologic toxicities were generally mild and consisted of nausea, paraesthesiae, stomatitis and palmar plantar syndrome.British Journal of Cancer (2002) >86, 1379–1384. DOI: © 2002