Optimizing treatment for platinum-resistant ovarian clear cell carcinoma: Efficacy of gemcitabine and combination therapy with bevacizumab

Abstract

Background

Platinum-resistant (PR) ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) is highly resistant to chemotherapy and has a poor prognosis. Both in-vitro and clinical studies have suggested that gemcitabine (GEM) is particularly effective against OCCC. Moreover, a combination with bevacizumab (Bev) is expected to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy.

Methods

To clarify these effects, the authors conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of 130 patients who received treatment single-agent chemotherapy, with or without Bev, for PR-OCCC. The effects of loss of AT-rich interaction domain 1A (ARID1A) protein expression also were assessed.

Results

Patients who received GEM as their first regimen achieved better overall survival (OS) than those who received other agents (median OS, 15.2 vs. 11.0 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41–0.96; p = .032). Bev combination therapies demonstrated a significantly improved time to treatment failure compared with chemotherapy alone (6.6 vs. 2.7 months; HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.41–0.87; p = .009) and showed a trend toward longer OS (23.3 vs. 9.8 months; HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.34–1.05; p = .085). ARID1A status did not affect OS in the overall group or in the group that received GEM as the first-line regimen (p = .41 and p = .31, respectively).

Conclusions

Collectively, the current findings suggest that GEM, particularly as a first-line treatment, may improve the prognosis of patients with PR-OCCC. Moreover, Bev combination therapy is a promising option for treating PR-OCCC.