ASCO News: Weekly Chemo Improves Quality of Life

In research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting this week, researchers found that shortening the break between chemotherapy sessions improved quality of life for patients, without negatively impacting efficacy.

Results from a randomized, phase III trial of over 800 women conducted in Italy showed that lower-dose weekly carboplatin plus paclitaxel was associated with better quality of life and less toxicity in patients with advanced ovarian cancer, compared with standard dosing of these agents every 3 weeks.

After 20 months of follow-up, 410 women had progressed, and the median time to progression was 18.8 months in the weekly arm, and 16.5 months among those who got therapy every 3 weeks;  the difference is not statistically significant.  On the other hand, both quality of life and toxicity were significantly better for women getting medication once a week.

Click here for more information on this research study.