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OBJECTIVES:
To identify patterns of metastasis in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. The influence of the route of chemotherapy administration and sequence of agents on those patterns is also examined.
RESULTS:
Thirty-five subjects developed extraperitoneal recurrent ovarian cancer, with 26 subjects (74%) after IP treatment, and 9 subjects (26%) after IV treatment. Of these extraperitoneal recurrences, 26 were in the thoracic/pulmonary cavity, 7 were within the central nervous system (CNS), and 2 were in the cutaneous (
skin) tissues. The CNS and cutaneous lesions were secondary recurrences, and all occurred in subjects who had initially received IP cisplatin/paclitaxel followed by IV BEV for recurrent disease.
CONCLUSIONS:
Extraperitoneal recurrences were more common in women treated with IP chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Specifically, women treated with IV BEV as secondary therapy after IP were at particularly high risk of extraperitoneal metastases, including in the CNS and cutaneous tissues. Physicians should be aware of the possibility of unusual metastases after the combination of IP chemotherapy and BEV, and future prospective studies of this population should carefully evaluate recurrence site patterns.
