Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin, or PLD, is the common treatment for platinum-sensitive and platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer. According to recent data presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, long-term use of PLD may carry with it an increased risk of developing secondary cancer of the oral cavity.

Dr. Timothy Cannon, a hematology/oncology fellow at the New York University Cancer Institute and first author of the study from which the new data was obtained, explained that while the numbers are small, the data remains compelling.

Dr. Cannon further explained that four out of the 16 study patients who received long-term PLD treatment for advanced-stage ovarian cancer “developed malignant and/or premalignant lesions of the tongue and/or oral cavity.”

As PLD treatment for ovarian cancer continues to increase in popularity, the news of an increased risk for developing secondary cancer of the oral cavity needs to be monitored. Dental screening would need to be initiated and PLD treatment may need to be stopped after a certain length of time.