Clinical significance of CA125 regression in chemotherapy of advanced ovarian cancer

Objective:The aim of this study was to compare the serum CA125 regression in advanced ovarian carcinoma patients treated with paclitaxel/platinum (TP) and platinum/epirubicin/ifosfamide (PAC) during early chemotherapy.The relationship between survival and CA125 regression during first line chemotherapy was evaluated.Methods:This retrospective investigation assessed 122 and 95 patients with stages IIc-IV ovarian carcinoma who underwent initial surgery followed by TP or PAC chemotherapy,respectively.Only epithelial ovarian cancers were included.CA125 half-life was calculated by mono-compartmental logarithmic regression.Every patient's nadir CA125 concentration was also studied.T-test was used in comparing CA125 half-life and nadir CA125 between two groups.Survival analyses for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) used univariate (Kaplan-Meier) and multivariate (Cox) models for all of the patients.Results:There was not significant difference in CA125 half-life and nadir CA125 concentration between two groups (P > 0.05).CA125 half-life and nadir CA125 concentration had a univariate prognostic value for PFS and OS (P < 0.0001) in all of the patients.However pre-chemotherapy CA125 and different chemotherapy agents were not prognostic factors for PFS and for OS (P > 0.05,for each).In Cox models,CA125 half-life (P=0.0006),residual tumour (P < 0.0001),and nadir concentration (P=0.0032) were significant prognostic factors for disease free survival (DFS).For OS,CA125 half-life (P=0.0013),residual tumor (P < 0.0001),and nadir concentration (P=0.0118) were also the significant prognostic factors.Conclusion:There isn't significant difference in serum CA125 regression between patients who are treated with PAC or PT during early chemotherapy.CA125 half-life and nadir CA125 concentration are independent prognostic factor in advanced ovarian cancer.

Effect of Bevacizumab Combined with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer and the Occurrence of Adverse Reactions

Objective:To explore the effect of bevacizumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced ovarian cancer and the occurrence of adverse reactions.Methods:A total of 80 patients with advanced ovarian cancer,treated in Affiliated People's Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University from June 2019 to December 2020,were randomly divided into two groups.In the chemotherapy group,40 patients were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy,while in the combined group,another 40 patients were treated with bevacizumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.The therapeutic effects were compared at the end of the treatment cycle.Results:There was no significant difference in the levels of CA125,CEA,and VEGF between the two groups before treatment.However,after the treatment cycle,the levels of CA125,CEA,and VEGF in the combined group were significantly better than those in the chemotherapy group(P<0.05).At the same time,the incidence of adverse reactions of the chemotherapy group was 67.50%,which was significantly higher than that of the combined group(35.00%;P<0.05).Conclusion:Bevacizumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with advanced ovarian cancer has significant curative effect.The combined therapy reduces the levels of tumor markers and inflammatory factors,improves patients'quality of life,as well as reduces adverse reactions.It has high clinical promotion value.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis from advanced ovarian cancer: To treat or not to treat ethical issues suggested by a case study

This article provides a brief description of an epithelial ovarian cancer （EOC） case （stage Ⅳ） treated with the association of complete CytoReductive Surgery and hy-pertermic intraPEritoneal chemotherapy （HIPEC）. The use of HIPEC in EOC makes theoretic sense in view of the high rates of recurrence following standard treat-ment, but there are no randomized clinical trial to date and HIPEC for these patients still represents a radical treatment where the choice of no treatment may be acceptable since defnitive cure is unlikely. We reviewed the entire decision making process considering the risk/beneft of the procedure in term of mortality/morbidity, the quality of life and the psychological profile of the patient 1 year after surgery. The platform World Health Organization-International Classification of Function-ing, Disability and Health that permits evaluation of the person in relation to the psycho-social context is pre-sented. A person-centred approach and assessment of health-related quality-of-life and disability in EOC survi-vors are of central importance for decision making.

Usefulness of human epididymis protein 4 in predicting cytoreductive surgical outcomes for advanced ovarian tubal and peritoneal carcinoma

Objective： Human epididymis protein 4（HE4） is a promising biomarker of epithelial ovarian cancer（EOC）. But its role in assessing the primary optimal debulking（OD） of EOC remains unknown. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the ability of preoperative HE4 in predicting the primary cytoreductive outcomes in advanced EOC, tubal or peritoneal carcinoma.Methods： We reviewed the records of 90 patients with advanced ovarian, tubal or peritoneal carcinoma who underwent primary cytoreduction at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Peking University People＇s Hospital between November 2005 and October 2010. Preoperative serum HE4 and CA125 levels were detected with EIA kit. A receiver operating characteristic（ROC） curve was used to determine the most useful HE4 cut-off value. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify significant preoperative clinical characteristics to predict optimal primary cytoreduction.Results： OD was achieved in 47.7%（43/48） of patients. The median preoperative HE4 level for patients with OD vs. suboptimal debulking was 423 and 820 pmol/L, respectively（P〈0.001）. The areas under the ROC curve for HE4 and CA125 were 0.716 and 0.599, respectively（P=0.080）. The most useful HE4 cut-off value was 473 pmol/L. Suboptimal cytoreduction was obtained in 66.7%（38/57） of cases with HE4 ≥473 pmol/L compared with only 27.3%（9/33） of cases with HE4 〈473 pmol/L. At this threshold, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value（PPV） and negative predictive value（NPV） for diagnosing suboptimal debulking were 81%, 56%, 67%, and 73%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed that the patients with HE4 ≥473 pmol/L were less likely to achieve OD（odds ratio =5.044, P=0.002）.Conclusions： Preoperative serum HE4 may be helpful to predict whether optimal cytoreductive surgery could be obtained or whether extended cytoreduction would be needed by an interdisciplinary team.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and cytoreductive surgery in epithelial ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of death among gynecological cancers. This is because the majority of patients present with advanced stage disease. Primary debulking surgery(PDS) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is still a mainstay of treatment. An optimal surgery, which is currently defined by leaving no gross residual tumor, is the goal of PDS. The extent of disease as well as the operative setting, including the surgeon's skill, infl uences the likelihood of successful debulking. With extensive disease and a poor chance of optimal surgery or high morbidity anticipated, neoadjuvant chemotherapy(NACT) prior to primary surgery is an option. Secondary surgery after induction chemotherapy is termed interval debulking surgery(IDS). Delayed PDS or IDS is offered to patients who show some clinical response and are without progressive disease. NACT or IDS has become more established in clinical practice and there are numerous publications regarding its advantages and disadvantages. However, data on survival are limited and inconsistent. Only one large randomized trial could demonstrate that NACT was not inferior to PDS while the few randomized trials on IDS had inconsistent results. Without a defi nite benefi t of NACT prior to surgery over PDS, one must carefully weigh the chances of safe and successful PDS against the morbidity and risks of suboptimal surgery. Appropriate selection of a patient to undergo PDS followed by chemotherapy or, preferably, to have NACT prior to surgery is very important. Some clinical characteristics from physical examination, serum tumor markers and/or fi ndings from imaging studies may be predictive of resectability. However, no specific features have been consistently identifi ed in the literature. This article will address the clinical data on prediction of surgical outcomes, the role of NACT, and the role of IDS.