Combination therapy of oral cyclophosphamide and bevacizumab for patients with recurrent ovarian and peritoneal cancer

Abstract

Chemotherapy for patients with recurrent cancer aims to obtain survival benefits, relieve symptoms, and improve quality of life. We used oral cyclophosphamide and bevacizumab (BEV) combination therapy in recurrent ovarian and peritoneal cancer cases, where standard chemotherapy was infeasible. Subsequently, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of this treatment. Between August 2014 and June 2020, patients received the following regimen: oral cyclophosphamide 50 mg daily and intravenous cyclic BEV 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks. Data from 2 facilities were retrospectively analyzed. Twenty-two patients were enrolled (20 with ovarian cancer and two with peritoneal cancer). The median follow-up period and age were 18.9 months (range, 5.0–51.5) and 60 years (range 37–81), respectively. Sixteen patients had platinum resistance. The median number of previous chemotherapy regimens was 2.5 (range 0–5). The median implementation cycle was five (range 2–14). Eighteen patients discontinued treatment due to side effects (3 patient) and disease progression (15 patient). Grade 2 toxicities included neutropenia (1 patient), proteinuria (1 patient), hypertension (2 patient), and esophagitis (1 patient). Two patients had complete response and one had a partial response. Five patients had stable disease. The response rate in platinum-sensitive recurrence was 33.3%, and 7.1% in platinum-resistant recurrence, and a clinical benefit was found in 8 (36.3%) patients. The median PFS and overall survival from cyclophosphamide and BEV initiation was 5.3 months (range, 0.8–23.5) and 9.2 months (range, 4.8–51.5), respectively. The combination of oral cyclophosphamide and BEV does not have a high response rate, but is well-tolerated and can be used safely in patients who are difficult to treat after second-line chemotherapy. Data from 2 facilities were retrospectively analyzed.