Treatment and prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer. Five year multi-center study

OBJECTIVE: To study the response rate for common chemotherapy regimens, and the progression free survival analysis in ovarian cancer in Tehran.

METHODS: Ninety-eight women with confirmed ovarian cancer who had surgery, followed by chemotherapy at the 3 hospitals in (Fayazbakhsh, Shohadayee Tajrish, and Imam-Hossein), Tehran, Iran, between 1997 and 2003 were enrolled in this retrospective descriptive study. Data regarding age, pathologic variations, surgical procedures, chemotherapy regimens, response rates, and time to progression of the disease were collected. Response rate was evaluated for 51 patients with epithelial cancer.

RESULTS: From a total of 98 patients, there were 81 (82.6%) epithelial, 12 (12.2%) germ cell, 4 (4.1%) granulosa cell tumors, and one case of lymphoma. Staging with optimal residue was performed for 18 patients. Stage III was the most common stage (44.9%). In 71.4% of patients, complete or partial response was seen, while the other patients showed stable, or progressive disease. The most important prognostic factors were the initial stage (p=0.034), and the extent of surgical procedure (p=0.045). Median disease-free survival was 52.6 months. Although, higher response rate was produced by taxane-based regimen in comparison with cisplatin-cyclophosphamide regimen (78.2 % versus 71.4%), but it was not statistically significant (p=0.275). Median age (49.6 years) of our patients is lower than expected. Besides, a large proportion of the patients are referred in advanced stages.

CONCLUSION: New chemotherapy practically has made no significant higher response rate.