Unregistered User If this is not your name, click here.
		Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague
	Select a ChannelAcneAIDS and HIVAllergy OtherAlzheimer'sAnaesthesiology OtherAngina Pectoris/MIAnxietyArthritis OtherAsthmaBack PainBacterial InfectionsBladder CancerBone Marrow TransplantationBreast CancerCardiology OtherCataractCell TransplantationCervical CancerCholesterol/Lipid disordersCirrhosisClinical PharmacologyColorectal CancerCongestive Heart FailureContact DermatitisContraceptionCOPDCystic FibrosisDental and Oral DisordersDepressionDermatology OtherDiabetesDialysisEating DisordersElbowEmergency MedicineEndocrinology OtherEpilepsyErectile DysfunctionFibromyalgiaGastro OtherGeneticsGenitourinary OtherGeriatricsGERD/GastritisGlaucomaH. Pylori/UlcerHaematology OtherHair LossHeadachesHepa/Biliary OtherHepatitisHipHRTHypertensionIBDImmunologyInfectious OtherInfertilityIntensive CareIrritable Bowel SyndromeKneeLeukemiasLiver CancerLung CancerLupusLymphomasMelanomaMenopauseMultiple Sclerosis Nephrology OtherNeurologic OtherNutritional / Metabolic OtherOb/Gyn OtherObesityOncology OtherOphth. OtherOphthalmic SurgeryOrgan TransplantationOrthopaedics OtherOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisOtitisOtorhino. OtherOvarian CancerPaediatricsPainPancreatic CancerParkinson'sPregnancyProstate CancerPsychiatry OtherPulmonary OtherRadiologyRenal CancerRenal FailureRespiratory InfectionsRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology OtherRhinitisSchizophreniaShoulderSleep ApnoeaSleep DisordersSpineStrokeSTDsSurgeryThyroid DisordersTransfusionTransplant Surgery OtherTraumaUrinary IncontinenceUrinary tract infectionsVaccinologyVascular DisordersViral Infections

SEARCH   News Bookstore Medline The Web Meetings & Congresses Complete Doctor's Guide    EXPLORE :    All News   All Webcasts   All Cases   All Meetings & Congresses   All Medical Resources New drugs / indications English Dictionary Medical Dictionary Thesaurus Warning | Privacy | Awards  Favourite Journals  Click here to choose your favourite journals  Favourite Sites  Click here to choose your favourite sites  Languages  Select languageEnglishFrançais

Carboplatin As Effective As Standard Combination Therapy For Advanced Ovarian Cancer LONDON, ENGLAND -- Nov. 13, 1998 -- Chemotherapy is commonly used after surgery to treat ovarian cancer. The ideal drug doses and combinations for chemotherapy are a source of constant debate and which permutation forms the standard regimen changes frequently. In the ICON2 trial, a research team co-ordinated by Dr. Mahesh Parmar from the cancer division of the MRC Clinical Trials Unit in Cambridge, England, compared a drug called carboplatin with a commonly used combined regimen consisting of three drugs: cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and cisplatin (CAP). In this week's issue of The Lancet, they report that carboplatin was just as effective and substantially less toxic, than CAP. Between January 1991 and July 1996, 1,526 women were enrolled into 132 study centres in nine countries. All women had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The women were allocated at random to be given six cycles of either carboplatin or CAP, with three-week intervals. The dose of carboplatin was calculated mathematically (by the area-under-the-curve method). The CAP regimen consisted of cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2, doxorubicin 50 mg/m2 and cisplatin 50 mg/m2. Data were collected at randomisation, six months, 12 months and annually thereafter. By February 1998, 728 women had died -- 368 in the CAP group and 360 in the carboplatin group, suggesting equivalent risks of death in the two groups. "We found no evidence of a difference in progression-free or overall survival between CAP and carboplatin," the investigators write. However, carboplatin proved less toxic than CAP, causing less alopecia (baldness), leucopenia (white blood cell deficiency), nausea and vomiting. Carboplatin caused more thrombocytopenia (low number of platelets in the blood). "Carboplatin is a safe, effective and appropriate standard treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer," they write. Related Links: The Lancet E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version