CALYPSO subanalysis: Doxorubicin arm experienced improved quality of life

Brundage M. Ann Oncol.2012;doi:10.1093/annonc/mdr583.

Results of a secondary analysis of the CALYPSO trial indicated that patients who received carboplatin/pegylated liposomal doxorubicin reported higher quality of life indicators than patients who received carboplatin/paclitaxel.

The current paper reports on health-related quality of life (QOL) in patients from the CALYPSO trial, the results of which indicated that carboplatin/pegylated liposomal doxorubicin was linked to a superior therapeutic index compared with carboplatin/paclitaxel in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.

Evaluation measures included the EORTC QOL-QC30 questionnaire and OV28 ovarian cancer module. The researchers acquired five functional scales and global health status at baseline and then assessed for mean change in score every 3 months for 12 months.

There was a 90% compliance rate at baseline, followed by a 76% compliance rate at 3 months, 64% at 6 months and 57% at 9 months. The mean for global scores at baseline was 62/100, which the researchers said was “impaired” QOL. They also noted symptom burden at baseline, with 90% of patients reporting nonzero scores.

Both arms — the carboplatin/pegylated liposomal doxorubicin arm and the carboplatin/paclitaxel arm — demonstrated improvements in global QOL and abdominal symptom scores over time. Six-month results indicated that 36% of all patients met criteria for symptom improvement.

Other results from the 6-month time point indicated that patients in the doxorubicin arm experienced less peripheral neuropathy (9.8 vs. 24.2); fewer adverse events associated with chemotherapy (9.5 vs. 16.2); and less impact on body image (3.8 vs. 10.4; P<.02 for all).

The researchers said carboplatin/pegylated liposomal doxorubicin had lower overall toxicity than carboplatin/paclitaxel, and QOL did not suffer at the expense of improved disease-related outcomes linked to doxorubicin.

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