Clinical trial of daily low-dose oral etoposide for patients with residual or recurrent cancer of the ovary or uterus.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the efficacy of long-term therapy of oral etoposide in patients with residual or recurrent gynecological malignancies.

METHODS

Twenty-five Japanese patients with resistant or recurrent carcinoma of the uterus or ovary were treated with oral etoposide at a dose of 25 mg/day/body for 21 consecutive days, and cycles were repeated every 4 weeks. The residual or recurrent lesion could be objectively evaluated in all patients by measuring it directly.

RESULTS

The response rate after 6 cycles of therapy was 40% for the group of all patients, and 42.8%, 28.6% and 50% for those with ovarian carcinoma, cervical carcinoma, and endometrial carcinoma, respectively. Side effects of etoposide treatment included gastrointestinal discomfort in 14 patients and leukopenia of grade 3 or higher in 2 patients. However, these side effects were mild, and all patients could continue treatment.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that long-term, low-dose oral etoposide was effective for and well-tolerated by patients with refractory or recurrent carcinoma of the ovary or uterus.