The results of a quantitative overview of chemotherapy in advanced ovarian cancer: what can we learn?

The results of a quantitative overview (meta-analysis) of randomised clinical trials, considering the roles of combination chemotherapy and platinum in advanced ovarian cancer are briefly reviewed. This overview collected individual patient data from 45 randomised trials, comprising information from over 8,000 women, but even with this large dataset, no firm conclusions could be reached. However, the results suggest that in terms of survival: i) immediate platinum-based therapy is better than a non-platinum regimen; ii) platinum in combination is better than single-agent platinum when used at the same dose, and iii) carboplatin and cisplatin are equally effective. These results led to the launch of two international randomised clinical trials in ovarian cancer, each of which plans to accrue 2,000 patients.