Etoposide, cisplatin-etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin-D as primary treatment for management of very-high-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of etoposide, cisplatin-etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin-D (EP-EMA) chemotherapy as the frontline treatment for gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) patients with very high (≥ 12) FIGO prognostic scores.

METHODS: Nine patients with very-high-risk GTN were treated with EP-EMA at the Cancer Institute, Adyar, India, between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2007. Salvage chemotherapy, adjuvant surgery, and radiotherapy were used when indicated. Clinical response, toxicity, and survival were analyzed separately.

RESULTS: The median FIGO score was 15. Six (66.7%) patients had a complete clinical response, whereas progressive disease occurred for 3 (33.3%) women. None of the patients relapsed. This translated to an overall survival rate of 66.7% in the primary setting. All patients with liver-only metastases were survivors after treatment with EP-EMA. Grade 3 neutropenia was detected in 3 (33.3%) patients only. No life-threatening toxicity was observed after EP-EMA treatment.

CONCLUSION: EP-EMA was highly effective for the primary management of very-high-risk GTN.