Best regimen

Hi Doctor,

I'm trying to figure out what is the best regimen for taking the Gemzar/Carboplatin combination because there seem to be some controversy surrounding it.

http://www.cancerselfdefense.com/gemzar.htm

Sorry for the insistence but I need to make my mind as I have two different opinions from two different physicians whom I have talked to about this here in Portugal.

First choice treatment was Cisplatin and Taxol (suspended 1 year and half ago) followed by Caelix(Doxil) and Topotecan.

Last recurrence was on the liver which dissapear after Avastin/Endoxan(Cyclophosphamide) combination once every 3 weeks during four cycles.

However little tumor cells started to appear arround the intestine - "squeezing" it - as it already had happened in the past for two other occasions.

Three years and four months have passed since first diagnosis.

Now, there is the Gemzar/Carboplatin option. What do you think?

Assuming it will be effective after how many treatments should I expect the CA125 lowering or some positive results?

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Hi There,

Gemzar and either cisplatin or carboplatin is very reasonable. Your other choices would be carboplatin by itself because it has been more than a year since your last platinum treatment. Or Gemzar by itself.

Because you have had several different drugs, you may have some trouble with your blood counts especially your platelets. cisplatin causes less myelosuppression than carboplatin. However cisplatin can cause more nausea. if you receive cisplatin it is very important to premedicate with a strong anti emetic such as ondansetron.

best wishes to you

[vfc]

Thank you for your reply, Doctor.

Regarding the Cisplatin/Carboplatin comparision I believe that the Carboplatin takes longer to produce results (one needs more treatment cycles). Do you confirm it?