Intraperitoneal chemo offers lasting benefit in ovarian cancer

(HealthDay)—Intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy offers lasting benefit for patients with advanced ovarian cancer, according to a study published online March 23 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Devansu Tewari, M.D., from the Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center in California, and colleagues examined long-term survival after IP chemotherapy in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. Data were analyzed for 876 patients from Gynecologic Oncology Group protocols 114 and 172, followed for a median of 10.7 years.

The researchers found that median survival was 61.8 months with IP therapy, compared with 51.4 months for intravenous therapy. IP therapy correlated with a reduced risk of death (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.77; P = 0.002). Among those with gross residual (≤1 cm) disease, IP therapy improved survival (aHR, 0.75 P = 0.006). For each IP chemotherapy cycle completed, the risk of death decreased by 12 percent (aHR, 0.88; P < 0.001). Clear/mucinous versus serous histology (aHR, 2.79), gross residual versus no visible disease (aHR, 1.89), and fewer versus more cycles of IP chemotherapy (aHR, 0.88) were factors associated with poorer survival (all P < 0.001). The IP regimen was more likely to be completed by younger patients; with each year of age there was a 5 percent decrease in probability of completion (odds ratio, 0.95; P < 0.001).

"The advantage of IP over intravenous chemotherapy extends beyond 10 years," the authors write. "Survival improved with increasing number of IP cycles."

One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.