Efficacy and safety of carboplatin plus paclitaxel in gynecological carcinosarcoma: a Brazilian retrospective study

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity profile of carboplatin and paclitaxel (CP) in women with gynecological carcinosarcoma. Methods: This is a single-center retrospective study that included 64 women with stage I-IV gynecological carcinosarcoma treated with CP between January 2012 and December 2017. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, toxicity, and survival outcomes, such as clinical benefit rate (CBR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. Results: The median age was 65.2 years. Most patients were stage III-IV (73.5%) and had undergone surgery as initial treatment (95.3%). Optimal cytoreduction (Ro) was associated with better median PFS (P = 0.011) and OS (P = 0.019) as compared to suboptimal cytoreduction (R1/R2). The CBR after first-line palliative CP was 36.7% (6.7% of complete response, 3.3% of partial response, and 26.7% of stable disease). For the general population, the median PFS was 11 months (95% confidence interval, CI: 8-50), and the median OS was 26 months (95% CI:12-not reached, NR). The most common adverse event was anemia observed in 71.8% of patients. Conclusion: This study suggests that CP may be an effective and safe option with a more convenient schedule for treating gynecological carcinosarcoma.