ICON8: Weekly Chemotherapy in Ovarian Cancer

The purpose of this study is to determine if weekly chemotherapy (i.e. giving paclitaxel or carboplatin at a lower dose every week) is more effective than standard chemotherapy (paclitaxel and carboplatin given once every three weeks over 18 weeks) in treating ovarian cancer. The investigators also want to see if weekly chemotherapy causes more or fewer side-effects than standard chemotherapy.

ICON8 is a three-arm, three stage trial. Patients will be randomised in a 1:1:1 ratio. Patients in arm 1 (control arm) will receive weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel on day 1 of a 21-day cycle for 6 cycles. Patients in arm 2 will receive carboplatin on day 1 and dose-fractionated weekly paclitaxel on day 1, 8 and 15 of a 21-day cycle for 6 cycles. Patients in arm 3 will receive dose-fractionated weekly carboplatin and dose-fractionated weekly paclitaxel on day 1, 8 and 15 of a 21-day cycle for 6 cycles. The trial will have three planned stages. Stage 1 will be conducted to confirm feasibility and safety of protocol treatment in all patients and separately in the Delayed Primary Surgery (DPS) patients. The outcome measure for stage 2 will be 9-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate. The primary outcome measures for stage 3 will be PFS and overall survival and secondary outcomes will be toxicity, Quality of Life and Health Economics. If pre-defined levels of deliverability, at stage 1, or activity, at stage 2, are not met then the research arms will be reconsidered.