RESUMO
Objective@#To describe the experience of the Division of Trophoblastic Diseases of the Philippine General Hospital with the various third‑line chemotherapeutic regimens among high‑risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) patients who experienced resistance after receiving the etoposide, cisplatin–etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin (EP‑EMA) regimen@*Materials and Methods@#This was a 17‑year descriptive study that included all patients who used various salvage chemotherapy after resistance to EP‑EMA as treatment for metastatic, high‑risk GTN at the Philippine General Hospital from January 2002 to December 2018. The medical records of eligible patients were retrieved and assessed. All abstracted data were analyzed retrospectively. Descriptive statistics were used to compute for percentages for the various demographic characteristics of the sample population@*Results@#From January 2002 to December 2018, a total of 291 patients with metastatic, high‑risk gestational GTN were treated at the Philippine General Hospital. Of these, only seven patients received various third‑line chemotherapy regimens after resistance to EP‑EMA. One patient was excluded due to incomplete data. Among the third‑line chemotherapeutic regimens used, 3 patients received paclitaxel/carboplatin, two of whom went into remission while one expired. One patient had vincristine, bleomycin, and cisplatin (VBP) with two adjunctive surgeries in the form of hysterectomy and thoracotomy. She also went into remission. Two patients received paclitaxel–cisplatin/paclitaxeletoposide (TP/TE) as third line of treatment. The first was shifted back to EP‑EMA and eventually developed chemoresistance to EP‑EMA and had multiple toxicities. After multidisciplinary conference with the patient and family, they decided to go home and refused further chemotherapy. The other patient had TP/TE followed by bleomycin–etoposide–cisplatin, with adjunctive hysterectomy. Despite multiple cycles of chemotherapy, the disease persisted. She was offered palliative care and the family decided to bring her home. Both patients eventually expired at home@*Conclusion@#No conclusion can be made about the most effective third line chemotherapy for resistant high‑risk GTN because of the limited cases included in this study. An individualized approach is still recommended. Physicians and centers for patients caring for such patients are encouraged to report their experience to improve the management of future patients
Assuntos
Doença Trofoblástica GestacionalRESUMO
Background@#Approximately 20%–25% of high-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) patients initially treated with first-line chemotherapy regimen develop resistance to the regimen. The EP-EMA (Etoposide-cisplatin and etoposide, methotrexate and actinomycin D) regimen is the most commonly utilized second-line agent. @*Objective@#This study aimed to identify factors leading to remission using etoposide and cisplatin-etoposide, methotrexate, and Actinomycin D (EP-EMA) as salvage chemotherapy among resistant high-risk GTN.@*Methods@#This is a retrospective descriptive study that reviewed the medical records of patients admitted in the section of trophoblastic diseases diagnosed with high-risk GTN from January 2006 to December 2015. @*Results@#The medical records of 20 patients were retrieved and reviewed. The complete remission rate with EP-EMA is 60% (12/20). The overall survival rate for 1 year is 70% (14/20). Only 20% of the patients went home against advice and did not complete treatment. This regimen reported toxicities ranging from Grade 2–4 myelosuppression and electrolyte imbalance. Forty-five percent had Grade 4 neutropenia and Grade 2 anemia and 20% had Grade 2 thrombocytopenia. Hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia were noted in 8 patients (40%). Although not statistically significant, a trend showed that those in the remission group mostly had Stage III diseases with metastasis only in the lungs, prognostic score of between 7 and 12, and with beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) levels <10,000 mIu/ml at the start of EP-EMA treatment.@*Conclusion@#There is an improved response with EP-EMA chemotherapy across the years in our institution. Factors such as stage of disease, pulmonary metastasis, and low β-hCG at the start EP-EMA chemotherapy denote a possible good response and may contribute to patients' complete remission with EP-EMA chemotherapy. However, further studies with larger patient sample size are recommended to support the latter.