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Avatar universal

Drug options?

My mom has done the taxol/carbo, doxil, gemzar, topotecan and soon they will have to switch to something else.
I hear there are so many other chemo drugs out there for ovca, but what are they?

I hear Avastin mentioned a lot but thats only available in clinical trials.

What other drugs are out there for women who had an immediate recurrence following first line treatment and who have also been on Doxil, Gemzar and Topotecan?

I read the drug Etoposide...is this an option?

Can someone give me specific drug names so I can do research and present to my moms oncologist?

I am so frightened there are no other options.

Im not a doctor so Im researching as best as I can so Im hoping someone can help me.

I think Avastin, Thalidomide (added to topotecan) and Abraxane are clinical trials.

But in my moms case for recurrent ovca, are THESE possibilities to get ON protocol?

Etoposide

Cisplatin - I know its a platinum drug but, even though she had an immediate recurrence after first line treatment, its been 2 years since she was on carbo, so Im hoping she can go back to a platinum drug even if its in combination with something else.

Melphalan

Doxorubicin (adriamycin)...this is NOT the same as Doxil, right?

Altretamine (Hexalen)

5-Fluorouracil plus Leucovorin

Gemzar - she just came off Gemzar a couple of months ago as a single agent drug....is it possible to use Gemzar again, even if its in combo with a platinum drug?

Any advice or guidance, Id sincerely appreciate.

Thanks again.

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Avatar universal
Thank you for the info and the bumps.

Heres the history:  after diagnosis my mom had the TAH.  When they did the rounds of taxol/carboplatin, her CA-125 got as low as 16.  Within a few weeks she had a recurrence.

Then onto Doxil for 2 months or so, which didnt do much and the mouth sores were horrible, so she had to stop.

Then onto Gemzar (as a single agent), which lowered the CA-125 a couple of hundred points initially, and then things remained stable for close to a year - which I thought was a good run.

Now onto topotecan (as a single agent) - things are considered "stable" but with a rising CA-125 the doctor knows a change will have to be made but he wants to hold off as long as possible.

It has been almost 2 years since she has been on a platinum drug.  So the original toxicity should be out of her body and I would like to think its been long enough that a drug in that class can work again.  Is this correct or am I just wishing here?

Apart from clinical trials, are there any other drugs out there that can be used that can realistically extend her life?  I hear so many say theres a whole list out there, but when I talk to my siblings, they make it sound like the options are limited.

Im going to call the doctor this week to speak with him.

If Avastin is the way to go, I have to try to advocate for my mom for either the insurance company to pay, or for the manufacturing company to be compassionate.

I cant believe its almost 2 1/2 years since her initial diagnosis.  If its a nightmare for me, I cannot even begin to comprehend what women have to go through with this disease.

Theres more that can be done for her right?  Her body has taken some beating and even though the current chemo has been tolerable for her, I just dont know how much more her body can take.

Thanks for listening and I wish everyone well!

Helpful - 0
106886 tn?1281291572
With all of the talk about old posts today, I saw your name and was relieved it was not an old post. It is good to see your name, but I wish, as I know you do, that you had better news to share.

I am sure you will get more responses as the day goes on. Karikay had so much information and I think that you will get even more information as the day goes on. I have heard Avastan spoken of several times over the past few months on this board. I am afraid that I am not a good source for this type of information, but I wanted to say hello....I will bump your post later if it has not been bumped because of a response.

Take care,

Mary
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Oh, and a few other things I forgot to mention!
I have read that some researchers believe that Gemzar damages cancer cells in a way that may make them sensitive to platinum again so you may want to ask her oncologist about if this would be a good time to try another platinum drug.
Eloxatin (Oxaliplatin) is another platinum drug that is already approved for colon cancer. I've read about a trial of Oxaliplatin and Doxil being used together for OvCa with good results. Not sure what other combos might be possible - talk to her doctors about it.

To answer your question about Doxil and Doxorubicin, actually they are the same thing, it's just that Doxil is "packaged" differently on a molecular level to reduce the side effects.
But as you see, there are other options out there, so keep up the good fight. :)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Avastin is approved for colon and breast cancer so I think your doctor should be able to use it off-label for ovarian too.  Avastin is often used in combination with a drug called Cytoxan I believe.
There are trials using Phenoxodiol to see if it can restore platinum sensitivity to ovarian cancer. I don't know for sure if your mom will fit the criteria for those trials but if she has responded to platinum before it's worth looking into it.

Some women are able to have stable disease with the anti-hormone drugs like Tamoxifen and Femara so these might also be things to look into.

Taxotere is another drug that has an effect on OvCa. It works similar to Taxol but I've read that even women who have become resistant to Taxol have a chance of responding to Taxotere.
Good luck with this. :)
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