Treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer

In the United States, almost 70% of the 23,000 women diagnosed annually with epithelial ovarian cancer present with advanced disease (FIGO stages III-IV). Primary therapy for these patients includes surgical cytoreduction and 6 - 8 courses of platinum- and taxane-based chemotherapy. Although 90% of patients will respond to this multi-modality combination regimen, most patients will experience recurrences. The 5 year survival for women with stage III disease is 15 - 30% and 0 - 20% for those with stage IV disease. Medical and gynecological oncologists, therefore, must be prepared to treat many women with recurrent ovarian cancer.