Two platinum-based chemotherapy drugs could improve ovarian cancer sufferers' chances of survival by up to 20 per cent if they are administered differently, according to new research.

Paclitaxel plus either carboplatin or cisplatin have traditionally been injected into the bloodstream using an intravenous dip.

However, a new technique, dubbed 'intraperitoneal chemotherapy', delivers the drugs directly to the abdomen via a catheter.

Barts and The London School of Medicine - the body currently trialling the procedure in the UK - believes this process makes the drugs up to 1,000 times stronger, the Daily Mail reports.

"Earlier studies indicate that when given directly the platinum-based drug is about ten times more concentrated and the paclitaxel is about 1,000 times higher than when given intravenously," Dr Chris Gallagher, who is heading up the UK study, told the newspaper.

"As both drugs are then absorbed into the bloodstream, the side-effects such as nausea, tiredness and hair loss are similar."

The average lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer is about 1.6 per cent, but this figure increases to five per cent for women whose first-degree relatives have suffered from the disease.

Source:

Can new 'super chemotherapy' conquer ovarian cancer? (02/03/10)

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