In vitro chemoresponse in metachronous pairs of ovarian cancers.

BACKGROUND/AIM: An in vitro chemoresponse assay may aid effective therapy selection in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). This study explores changes in chemoresponse between paired primary and recurrent EOC tumors.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

RESULTS from metachronous tumors were examined in 242 patients. Changes in in vitro chemoresponse, measured by the area under the dose response curve (AUC) between paired tumors were assessed.

RESULTS

A significant increase in AUC was identified in most first-line therapies over time. No significant difference was observed in most recurrent therapies. When the elapsed time between occurrences was <17 months, no difference was observed for any recurrent therapies, and half of first-line therapies exhibited significant increases in AUC. When ≥17 months, all 7 therapies showed significant increases.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest an increase in chemoresistance over time, which is more pronounced for first-line therapies. This is consistent with clinical observations and suggests the biologic concordance between assay results and response to chemotherapy.