Phase II trial of continuous drug infusions in advanced ovarian carcinoma: acivicin versus vinblastine.

Sixty-six women with advanced ovarian carcinoma of coelomic epithelial origin were randomly assigned to one of two intravenous single-agent infusion treatment regimens, either acivicin (60 mg/m2/course, administered as a 72-hr infusion) or vinblastine (7.5 mg/m2/course, administered as a 120-hr infusion) every three weeks. All had progressive disease after one to three prior chemotherapeutic regimens. Of 62 patients who were evaluable for response, survival and toxicity, there was one partial response (2%) produced by vinblastine. Median survival was 13 weeks on either treatment arm. Three patients (10%) on the acivicin arm experienced life-threatening myelosuppression. Severe toxicities resulting from this treatment included myelosuppression (26%), neurotoxicity (16%), mucositis (3%) and vomiting (6%). Vinblastine was associated with one lethal pneumonia and five cases of life-threatening myelosuppression (16%); severe toxicities included myelosuppression (58%), genitourinary toxicity (6%), infection (3%), and edema (3%). Neither regimen produces useful clinical results in patients who have relapsed after prior chemotherapy for ovarian carcinoma.