Is pretreatment hemoglobin level a predictor of complete response to salvage chemotherapy for recurrent platinum-pretreated ovarian carcinoma?
PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION: The aim of this retrospective study was to correlate some patient characteristics at relapse, including also baseline hemoglobin levels, with complete response rate and survival following second-line chemotherapy for recurrent platinum-pretreated ovarian carcinoma. METHODS: The investigation was conducted on 63 patients who received salvage chemotherapy with different agents for clinically detectable recurrent ovarian carcinoma following initial surgery and first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Some patient characteristics at relapse (patient age, serum CA 125 level, baseline hemoglobin level, number of recurrence sites, ascites, platinum-free interval, and treatment-free interval) were related to complete response rate to salvage chemotherapy and survival after recurrence. Median baseline hemoglobin level was 11.6 g/dl (range, 7.5-15.0 g/dl). RESULTS: Second-line chemotherapy obtained a complete response in 17 (27.0%) patients and a partial response in 11 (
