[Gemicitabine in the treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer]

Abstract

Despite the improvement in the treatment of the ovarian cancer, the latter remains rarely curable, although being a chemosensitive solid tumor. Most patients will not be in definite remission for their disease. Gemcitabine is a new antimetabolite selected for clinical trials based on its activity in preclinical studies. With response rates ranging from 11% to 22% in monotherapy in resistant or platinum refractory diseases, gemcitabine has quickly been shown to be an active agent in the treatment of patients with refractory recurrent ovarian cancer. The toxicity was modest in phase II trials and allowed associations with other drugs, out of which platinum compounds. The response rates that have been obtained appear to be very encouraging (between 61% and 67%) and fully justify the recent phase III trials conducted in first line.