Chemotherapy is a drug used to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy is given to destroy cancer cells that remain following surgery, to control tumor growth or to relieve symptoms. Most chemotherapy drugs are given intravenously [IV] and can be injected into a vein or a port. Chemotherapy drugs enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body.

Chemotherapy affects normal as well as cancer cells and therefore, most patients experience side effects from treatment. Common side effects include nausea, loss of appetite, diarrhea, fatigue, low blood counts, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, headaches and hairloss.

In 1993, the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) completed a landmark study that determined that paclitaxel (Taxol®) plus cisplatin chemotherapy following tumor-debulking surgery was the most effective treatment for epithelial ovarian cancer. Other subsequent clinical trials have confirmed this finding and have helped to determine that carboplatin, a “sister” drug to cisplatin, is equivalent in efficacy but much less toxic to the patient. Therefore, the standard first-line treatment for ovarian cancer at this time is chemotherapy using paclitaxel plus carboplatin. The extent of treatment varies with the stage of disease. Patients with advanced stage disease are usually given 6 to 8 cycles of chemotherapy, whereas patients with early-stage disease receive 3 to 6 cycles. Each cycle of therapy is typically 21 days (3 weeks) in length, although treatment is usually administered on Day 1, or at the most once per week each cycle.

View "First-Line Chemotherapy Agents and Common Side Effects" (PDF)