Dose-dense paclitaxel plus carboplatin as neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal carcinomas

Purpose Weekly dose-dense paclitaxel with carboplatin every 3 weeks (dose-dense TC) provides good efficacy, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy is common for advanced-stage disease. However, it is unclear the efficacy and safety of dose-dense TC as neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Therefore, we evaluated neoadjuvant dose-dense TC chemotherapy for advanced-stage ovarian carcinoma. Methods We retrospectively reviewed cases of ovarian carcinoma that were not suited for primary debulking surgery (2003–2014). The patients received neoadjuvant dose-dense TC chemotherapy, followed by interval debulking surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Results We identified 74 patients (mean age 60 years, range 39–85 years). The FIGO stages were IIIC (39/74, 52.7%) and IV (34/74, 45.9%). Fifty-six patients (75.6%) had a performance status of 0–1. The adverse events were grade 3/4 neutropenia (55.4%), anemia (44.6%), thrombocytopenia (21.6%), and peripheral neuropathy (8.1%); no treatment-related deaths were observed. Among the 66 patients who underwent debulking (89.2%), 55 patients (74.3%) achieved optimal debulking and 47 patients (63.5%) achieved complete resection. The median progression-free and overall survivals were 19.0 months (95% CI 16.2–23.7 months) and 55.1 months (95% CI 44.6 months to not estimable), respectively. A performance status of 2–3 was independently associated with poor prognosis (hazard ratio 3.84; p = 0.001). Conclusions Neoadjuvant dose-dense TC chemotherapy was effective (complete resection in >60% of cases) and tolerable for advanced-stage ovarian carcinoma.