Comparison of quality of life in patients with advanced ovarian cancer treatedwith intravenous paclitaxel and carboplatin versus cyclophosphamide andcisplatin as first line chemotherapy - a preliminary report

I n t r o d u c t i o n. Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common gynecological malignancy in Poland (after breasr cancer, lung cancer and cercical cancer) and the second leading cause of death from gynecological malignancy (after cervical cacer). An objective response to cytotoxic chemotherapy occurs in the majority of individuals with cancers of the ovary. M a t e r i a l a n d m e t h o d s. 54 patients (of 215), who were treated in our clinic between January 2000 and March 2001 were included in the study. Eligibility criteria were: 1) histologically confirmed diagnosis of advanved ovarian cancer, 2) primary cytoreductive surgery, 3) Karnofsky performance status 70% and cognitive abilities allowing for filling in the questionnaire. Quality of life was measured using EORTC-C30 (version 3.0) questionnaire. Re s u l t s. Higher score of nausea and vomiting was observed in the group of patients treated with PC regimen, as compared to paclitaxel and carboplatin. However, those patients had significantly better social functioning. Cyclophosphamide and cisplatin more often caused dyspnoea, sleeping and appetite problems. PC regimen affected cognitive functioning and role functioning less, as compared to paclitaxel and carboplatin. There was no significant difference in general functioning between the two groups. C o n c l u s i o n s. Global quality of life in patients treated with paclitaxel/carboplatin was the same as in patients treated with PC regimen. Higher scores in symptom and single-item scale were observed in patients treated with the PC regimen. Paclitaxel/carboplatin regimen influenced the quality of life more in the functional scale. In order to obtain objective assessment of the quality of life larger population study is necessary.