Thirty-one patients with refractory ovarian cancer and other malignancies principally confined to the abdominal cavity were treated with an intraperitoneal combination-chemotherapy regimen consisting of cisplatin (100 to 200 mg/m2), cytosine arabinoside (10(-4) to 10(-3) mol/L) and doxorubicin (2 to 18 mumol/L). Sodium thiosulfate was simultaneously administered intravenously to prevent cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Eight of 26 evaluable patients demonstrated clinical response including seven of 17 (41%) with ovarian cancer refractory to frontline chemotherapy. Systemic toxicity was mild except for nausea and vomiting. Abdominal pain secondary to doxorubicin was the major complication of therapy. We conclude that combination intraperitoneal therapy with cisplatin, cytosine arabinoside, and doxorubicin can be safely administered with objective tumor responses observed in patients with ovarian cancer heavily pretreated and in individuals with other malignancies involving the peritoneal cavity. Doxorubicin-induced local pain limits the ability to administer multiple courses of this treatment regimen.