[Combination chemotherapy with Hemzar (gemcitabine) and cisplatin for relapsing and cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer].

The paper is concerned with the data on treatment of 33 patients with advanced ovarian cancer, aged 34-72 (average age of 52.5). Having received numerous regimens of combination chemotherapy, mainly, with cisplatin-containing drugs, sixty-one percent had visceral metastases. Early-onset relapse was in 18.2%, late-onset--12.1% and primary refractory to cisplatin chemotherapy--30%. Hemzar (hemcytabin) + cisplatin + carboplatin treatment was given in 15- or 8-day courses (hemzar--1,000 mg/m2, day 1, 8 and 15 or day 1 and 8; cisplatin m2 or carboplatin AVC5--60 mg/m2, day 1 or 15, day 1 or 8, respectively). A total of 102 cycles of therapy were given and evaluated. Complete response was reported in 2 (6.0%), partial--5 (15.2%), and stabilization--13 (39.4%); significant clinical effect--60.6%. Such side-effects as leukemia stage I-II--63.6%; stage III-IV--3%, neutropenia stage I-II--39.4; stage III-IV--24.2%, thrombocytopenia stage I-II--6%, and asthenia stage I-II--12.1%, stage III-IV--3 patients, did not interfere with treatment. Combination chemotherapy with hemzar + cisplatin + carboplatin was effective and sufficiently tolerable. It is indicated in management of relapse and primary resistance to cisplatin drugs administered for ovarian cancer whenever all other remedies have failed.