We performed a descriptive analysis of ovarian cancer patients aged 65 years or older who had an IP catheter placed for either first-line IP chemotherapy or consolidation following intravenous (IV) carboplatin/paclitaxel. An intention-to-treat analysis of 100 ovarian cancer patients younger than 65 years was performed for comparison.
Between 1994 and 2008, 100 patients 鈮?#xA0;65 years of age had an IP catheter inserted at our institution. Median age was 70 (range, 65-83). Median Karnofsky performance status was 90%(range, 70-90), and median number of comorbidities was 2 (range, 0-6). Twenty-four patients had first-line IP/IV cisplatin-paclitaxel, and 76 had IP cisplatin consolidation after completion of IV treatment. In the IP/IV cohort, 13 women (54%) completed all 6 planned cycles of IP therapy; 18 (75%) completed at least 4 cycles. Of all 100 patients, 13 had treatment delays, and 37 required dose reductions (21%at baseline). Median number of IP cycles was 3 (range, 0-6). There was no significant difference in the number of grade 鈮?#xA0;3 toxicities between younger and older patients.
IP chemotherapy can be safely administered in selected older patients with adequate support and dose modifications either as first-line treatment or as a consolidation therapy. Efforts to include older patients in future prospective trials should be emphasized.