Low-dose-intensity bevacizumab with weekly irinotecan for platinum- and taxanes-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of low-dose-intensity bevacizumab and weekly irinotecan as salvage treatment for patients with platinum- and taxanes-resistant advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. Fifty-two patients with platinum- and taxanes-resistant advanced epithelial ovarian cancer received bevacizumab 5 mg/Kg days 1 and 15; irinotecan 60 mg/m(2) days 1, 8 and 15. The combined therapy was repeated every 28 days, up to six cycles. A total of 230 cycles of bevacizumab combined with irinotecan were administrated to 52 patients. Among the 52 patients, 22 patients achieved partial response (42.3 %); 12 patients had stable disease (23.1 %) and 18 patients experienced disease progression (34.6 %). The median progression-free survival and the median overall survival were 8.0 months (95 % confidence interval: 6.74-9.26 months) and 13.8 months (95 % confidence interval: 11.97-15.63 months), respectively. The most frequent grade 3-4 hematologic toxicities were neutropenia (11.5 %) and thrombocytopenia (3.8 %). The non-hematologic toxicities included grade 3 diarrhea (3.8 %) and hypertension (3.8 %). Two patients (3.8 %) were confirmed with deep vein thrombosis. Febrile neutropenia, symptomatic cardiac dysfunction and gastrointestinal perforation were not observed in this study. The combination of low-dose-intensity bevacizumab and weekly irinotecan was an effective and safe regimen for patients with platinum- and taxanes-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer.