Weekly carboplatin in a frail elderly woman with advanced peritoneal carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION

Standard chemotherapy for ovarian, peritoneal and fallopian tube carcinoma has been a combination of carboplatin (AUC = 6) and paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 every 3 weeks. For frail and elderly patients who may not tolerate the toxicity associated with combination chemotherapy there is the option of omitting paclitaxel and giving carboplatin (AUC = 6) as a single agent every 3 weeks. The toxicity may be reduced further, without decreasing effectiveness, by giving single-agent carboplatin at a reduced dose (AUC = 2) every week.

CASE REPORT: A frail 79-year-old woman with advanced peritoneal carcinoma had first-line and second-line chemotherapy with single-agent carboplatin on day 1 every 7 days. This has resulted in disease stabilization, CA-125 partial response and improved quality of life. Toxicity has been negligible.

CONCLUSION

Weekly carboplatin is an attractive option for the treatment of frail and elderly patients with ovarian, peritoneal and fallopian tube carcinoma.