Paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy administered during pregnancy for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer diagnosed during pregnancy is uncommon. Most chemotherapy use reported has been in combination with cisplatinum. Paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin during pregnancy has not yet been reported. CASE: A right adnexal mass was diagnosed during pregnancy at 5 weeks' gestational age in a 30-year-old woman. A laparotomy was performed 2 1/2 weeks later because of the worsening nature of her symptoms and the possibility of ovarian torsion. At surgery, the patient was diagnosed with stage IIIC ovarian papillary serous cystadenocardnoma. She was treated with six cycles of paclitaxel and carboplatin beginning at 16-17 weeks' gestation. At 35.5 weeks' gestation, a cesarean hysterectomy, left salpingooophorectomy, and pelvic and paraaortic nodal sampling with multiple peritoneal biopsies was performed without incident. However, the patient had refractory disease present in the remaining ovary. She was treated with further chemotherapy and is currently doing well. The patient experienced no adverse reactions during her treatment, and the infant has normal growth and development at 15 months of age. CONCLUSION: Paclitaxel used in combination with carboplatin for the treatment of ovarian cancer during pregnancy caused no adverse effects in the infant.