Skin-mucous membrane disorder and therapeutic effect of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in recurrent ovarian cancer.

Aim: Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) induced by chemotherapy and molecule-targeting drugs is correlated with treatment efficacy. We conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate the relationship between HFS and efficacy of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) for recurrent ovarian cancer.

Methods: Patients were treated with PLD between July 2009 and May 2014. We evaluated patient characteristics, incidence of adverse events, clinical benefit (rate of complete response, partial response, and stable disease), progression-free survival, and overall survival.

Results: Twenty-seven patients were included in the study. Median age was 63 years (range, 41-77 years). The median number of cycles of PLD was 3 (range, 1-6). The clinical benefit rate was 33.3%, and progressive disease was noted in 18 patients (66.7%). Median overall survival was 6.7 months (range, 1.1-41 months). Compared with patients with grade 0/1 HFS and oral mucositis, patients with grade 2-4 toxicity (n = 9, 33.3%) had a significantly higher rate of clinical benefit (11.1% vs 77.7%; P < 0.001) and a longer median overall survival (3.7 months vs 20.8 months; P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Severity of HFS and mucositis may be a predictive marker of PLD efficacy. The prevention and management of HFS and mucositis are important for continued treatment.