Effect of tumor burden and radical surgery on survival difference between upfront,early interval or delayed cytoreductive surgery in ovarian cancer

ObjectiveWe sought to evaluate the impact on survival of tumor burden and surgical complexity in relation to the number of cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in patients with advanced ovarian cancer (OC) with minimal (CC-1) or no residual disease (CC-0).MethodsThis retrospective study included patients with International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics IIIC–IV stage OC who underwent debulking surgery at 4 high-volume institutions between January 2008 and December 2015. We assessed the overall survival (OS) of primary debulking surgery (PDS group), early interval debulking surgery after 3–4 cycles of NACT (early IDS group) and delayed debulking surgery after 6 cycles (DDS group) with CC-0 or CC-1 according to peritoneal cancer index (PCI) and Aletti score.ResultsFive hundred forty-nine women were included: 175 (31.9%) had PDS, 224 (40.8%) early IDS and 150 (27.3%) DDS. Regardless of Aletti score, median OS after PDS was significantly higher than after early IDS or DDS, but the survival difference was higher in women with an Aletti score <8. Among patients with PCI ≤10, median OS after PDS was significantly higher than after early IDS or DDS. In women with PCI >10, there were no differences between PDS and early IDS, but DDS was associated with decreased OS.ConclusionThe benefit of complete PDS compared with NACT was maximal in patients with a low complexity score. In patients with low tumor burden, there was a survival benefit of PDS over early IDS or DDS. In women with high tumor load, DDS impaired the oncological outcome.     

晚期上皮性卵巢癌不同治疗方案的预后影响因素分析

目的 分析晚期上皮性卵巢癌患者接受传统治疗及新辅助化疗的预后差异,探讨影响患者预后的临床特征。方法 回顾性分析129例晚期上皮性卵巢癌患者临床资料。根据不同治疗方案分为NACT-IDS组（69例）及PDS组（60例）。结果 两组患者平均手术时间、术中出血量、手术并发症的发生率及术后住院日差异均无统计学意义（P>0.05）。NACT-IDS组及PDS组手术理想减灭率差异有统计学意义（P=0.002）。两组患者平均总生存期及无进展生存期差异均无统计学意义。根据年龄、临床分期、病理学类型等临床特征单独比较接受不同治疗方案的两组患者预后,发现差异均无统计学意义（P>0.05）。将临床特征组合进行评估时,仅接受NACT-IDS及PDS治疗并达到理想减灭的Ⅲ期患者平均总生存时间差异有统计学意义（P=0.030）。结论 对于晚期上皮性卵巢癌,建议经评估可以通过PDS达到理想减灭的Ⅲ期患者行PDS,其余晚期患者可以放宽NACT的实施标准。     

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: GOTIC-019 study

Introduction

Three randomized controlled trials have resulted in extremely extensive application of the strategy of using neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by interval debulking surgery (IDS) for patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer in Japan. This study aimed to evaluate the status and effectiveness of treatment strategies using NAC followed by IDS in Japanese clinical practice.

Patients and methods

We conducted a multi-institutional observational study of 940 women with Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages III–IV epithelial ovarian cancer treated at one of nine centers between 2010 and 2015. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between 486 propensity-score matched participants who underwent NAC followed by IDS and primary debulking surgery (PDS) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.

Results

Patients with FIGO stage IIIC receiving NAC had a shorter OS (median OS: 48.1 vs. 68.2 months, hazard ratio [HR]: 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99–1.82, p = 0.06) but not PFS (median PFS: 19.7 vs. 19.4 months, HR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.80–1.31, p = 0.88). However, patients with FIGO stage IV receiving NAC and PDS had comparable PFS (median PFS: 16.6 vs. 14.7 months, HR: 1.07 95% CI: 0.74–1.53, p = 0.73) and OS (median PFS: 45.2 vs. 35.7 months, HR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.65–1.47, p = 0.93).

Conclusions

NAC followed by IDS did not improve survival. In patients with FIGO stage IIIC, NAC may be associated with a shorter OS.

     

Primary debulking surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery for patients with advanced ovarian cancer

Objectives:To compare the survival and perioperative morbidity between primary debulking surgery(PDS) and neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery(NAC/IDS) in treating patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer(EOC).Methods:We retrospectively reviewed 67 patients with stage IIIC or IV EOC treated at Peking University Cancer Hospital from January 2006 to June 2009.Wherein,37 and 30 patients underwent PDS and NAC/IDS,respectively.Results:No difference in overall survival(OS) or progression-free survival(PFS) was observed between NAC/IDS group and PDS group(OS:41.2 vs.39.1 months,P=0.23;PFS:27.1 vs.24.3 months,P=0.37).The optimal debulking rate was 60% in the NAC/IDS group,which was significantly higher than that in the PDS group(32.4%)(P=0.024).The NAC/IDS group had significantly less intraoperative estimated blood loss and transfusion,lower nasogastric intubation rate,and earlier ambulation and recovery of intestinal function than the PDS group(P<0.05).Conclusions:NAC/IDS is less invasive than PDS,and offers the advantages regarding optimal cytoreduction rate,intraoperative blood loss,and postoperative recovery,without significantly impairing the survival compared with PDS in treating patients with stage IIIC or IV EOC.Therefore,NAC/IDS may be a valuable treatment alternative for EOC patients.     

Phase III randomised clinical trial comparing primary surgery versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer with high tumour load (SCORPION trial): Final analysis of peri-operative outcome

ObjectiveTo establishing whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval debulking surgery (IDS) is superior primary debulking surgery (PDS) in terms of clinical outcome as well as peri-operative morbidity in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (AEOC) endowed with high tumour load (HTL).Material and methodsThis is a single-Institution, superiority, randomised phase III trial enrolling supposed AEOC women. Patients considered pre-operatively eligible were triaged to staging laparoscopy to assess the predictive index (PI) of tumour load. All AEOC women with PI ≥ 8 or ≤ 12 (considered as HTL) were included. They were randomly assigned (1:1 ratio) to undergo either PDS followed by systemic adjuvant chemotherapy (arm A, standard), or NACT followed by IDS (NACT/IDS) (arm B, experimental). Co-primary outcome measures were postoperative complications (graded according to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center surgical secondary events grading system) and progression free survival (PFS); secondary outcomes were overall survival, and quality of life (QoL). QoL was assessed using the EORTC QoL questionnaires. A sample size of 110 patients was required for the analysis of the first co-primary end-point (major peri-operative morbidity) whereas recruitment is still on-going to achieve the statistical power on PFS.ResultsBetween October 2011 and November 2014, we registered 280 AEOC. Of the 110 eligible women, 55 were assigned to arm A and 55 to arm B. Despite different extension of surgery, rates of complete residual disease (residual tumour = 0 cm) were superimposable between the groups (45.5% versus 57.7%; p = 0.206). Twenty-nine patients (52.7%) in arm A experienced early grade III–IV complications versus three patients (5.7%) in IDS (p = 0.0001). The most common complication was grade III and consisted of symptomatic pleural effusion requiring thoracic drainage (17/55 women (30.9%) in arm A versus 1/52 (1.9%) in arm B, p = 0.0001). Three grade IV (5.4%) (i.e., two re-operations for postoperative haemorrhage and one septic multi-organ failure), and two grade V (3.6%) (two deaths for acute cardiopulmonary failure) early complications were observed in arm A only.Mean QoL scores of several scales/items were shown to ameliorate over time in both arms. Emotional functioning, cognitive functioning, nausea/vomiting, dyspnoea, insomnia and hair loss were statistically and clinically better in NACT/IDS compared to PDS arm.ConclusionsPerioperative moderate/severe morbidity as well as QoL scores were shown to be more favourable in NACT/IDS arm than PDS in AEOC patients with very HTL. Completion of patient enrolment and analysis of survival data will clarify whether PDS with such a high rate of severe complications is an acceptable treatment in AEOC women with HTL.     

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy,interval debulking surgery or primary surgery in ovarian carcinoma FIGO stage IV?

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the impact of surgical approach, the extent of surgery and chemotherapy on overall survival in patients with ovarian carcinoma (OC) stage IV.MethodsWe retrospectively collected population-based data from the Norwegian Radium Hospital code registry on the diagnosis and surgery of 238 patients diagnosed with OC stage IV from 1996–2005. All patients received platinum-based chemotherapy. Surgical approach was registered as primary debulking surgery (PDS), interval debulking surgery (IDS) and delayed primary surgery (DPS). Surgery level was classified as radical surgery (RS), standard surgery (SS) or suboptimal surgery (SUBS). Univariate and multivariate analyses identified prognostic factors in PDS, IDS and DPS groups and subgroups.ResultsThere were no differences in overall survival between the PDS, IDS and DPS groups. Surgery level was significantly associated with overall survival in the whole cohort (p < 0.001), the PDS and IDS groups, but not in the DPS group. More patients with RS achieved no residual tumour (RT), but overall survival was not superior compared to no RT in the SS group. In 66 patients with no RT there were no differences in overall survival between those who underwent PDS, IDS and DPS. Chemotherapy with platinum/paclitaxel tended to improve survival. RT, World Health Organisation (WHO) performance status and histology were prognostic factors for overall survival in the whole cohort.ConclusionNo RT remains the objective, whether PDS, IDS or DPS is performed, and no differences in overall survival were found in the three treatment groups.     

Results of interval debulking surgery in advanced stage ovarian cancer: an exposed-non-exposed study.

BACKGROUND: To study the results of interval debulking surgery (IDS) in patients treated for 'unresectable' advanced stage ovarian cancer compared with primary debulking surgery (PDS) followed by chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An exposed-non-exposed study including a group of 34 patients who underwent an IDS and were matched to an historic control group of 34 patients treated with PDS. RESULTS: Optimal cytoreductive surgery was achieved in 94% (32 out of 34) of patients in both groups. The rates of post-operative morbidity, blood transfusion and median length of hospitalisation were significantly reduced in the study (IDS) group, but survival did not differ in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: IDS in patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer offers the same chance of survival as PDS, but it is better tolerated.     

Preoperative Serum CA-125 Level As a Predictor for The Extent of Cytoreduction in Patients with Advanced Stage Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

BackgroundOvarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer in women worldwide and the eighth most common cause of cancer death. Due to the lack of effective early detection strategies and the unspecific onset of symptoms, it is diagnosed at an advanced stage in 75% of cases. The cancer antigen (CA) 125 is used as a prognostic marker and its level is elevated in more than 85% of women with advanced stages of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The standard treatment is primary debulking surgery (PDS) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT), but the later approach is neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval debulking surgery (IDS). Several studies have been conducted to find out whether preoperative CA-125 serum levels influence treatment choice, surgical resection and survival outcome. The aim of our study was to analyse experience of single institution as Cancer comprehensive center with preoperative usefulness of CA-125.Patients and methodsAt the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana a retrospective analysis of 253 women with stage FIGO IIIC and IV ovarian cancer was conducted. Women were divided into two groups based on their primary treatment. The first group was the NACT group (215 women) and the second the PDS group (38 women). The differences in patient characteristics were compared using the Chi-square test and ANOVA and the Kaplan-Meier method was used for calculating progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).ResultsThe median serum CA-125 level was higher in the NACT group than in the PDS group, 972 IU/ml and 499 IU/ ml, respectively. The PFS in the NACT group was 8 months (95% CI 6.4–9.5) and 18 months (95% CI 12.5–23.4) in the PDS group. The median OS was lower in the NACT group than in the PDS group, 25 months (95% CI 20.6–29.5) and 46 months (95% CI 32.9–62.1), respectively.ConclusionsPreoperative CA-125 cut off value of 500 IU/ml is a promising threshold to predict a successful PDS.Key words: ovarian cancer, tumour marker, CA-125, primary debulking surgery, neoadjuvant chemotherapy     

Primary site disease and recurrence location in ovarian cancer patients undergoing primary debulking surgery vs. interval debulking surgery

IntroductionThe natural history and patterns of ovarian cancer (OC) relapse are still unclear. Recurrent disease can be peritoneal, parenchymal, or nodal. This study aims to analyze the location and pattern of OC recurrence according to the primary site of disease and to the type of surgical approach used.Material and methodsAll OC patients underwent primary debulking surgery (PDS) or interval debulking surgery (IDS), with 2014 FIGO stage III-IV, and with platinum-sensitive recurrence were included in the study. Primary disease location and site of recurrences were divided into peritoneal, parenchymal, and nodal, according to the presence of peritoneal carcinomatosis, parenchymal metastasis, and nodal involvement, respectively.ResultsA total of 355 patients were initially considered; of them, 295 met the inclusion criteria. Two hundred thirty-three patients obtained no macroscopic residual tumor at the end of primary surgical treatment. Primary parenchymal disease relapsed in 84.6% cases at a parenchymal site (p < 0.001), 97.2% of peritoneal diseases relapsed on the peritoneum (p < 0.001), and 100% of nodal diseases had a nodal recurrence (p < 0.001). Stratifying by the surgical approach all these correlations have been confirmed both in the PDS (p < 0.001) and IDS (p < 0.001) groups.ConclusionOur study shows that the site of relapse in cases of platinum-sensitive OC recurrence is closely related to the primary location of the disease, regardless of the type of initial treatment. Therefore, more attention during followup should be paid to areas where the initial tumor was present.     

Prognostic significance of CA-125 re-elevation after interval debulking surgery in patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy

AimsWe evaluated the prognostic significance of postoperative re-elevation of cancer antigen-125 (CA-125) levels in patients with ovarian cancer and preoperative normalization of CA-125 levels after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).MethodsThe data of 103 patients with preoperative CA-125 normalization after NAC at the Yonsei Cancer Hospital (2006–2017) were analyzed. We compared the clinical characteristics and survival outcomes among patients with normal postoperative CA-125 levels and those with re-elevated CA-125 levels after interval debulking surgery (IDS). CA-125 elevation was defined as levels >35 U/mL.ResultsAmong 103 patients, 52 (50.5%) and 51 (49.5%) had normal and re-elevated CA-125 levels after IDS, respectively. Patients with CA-125 re-elevation underwent more radical surgeries during IDS than those with normal CA-125 levels (p = 0.018). We found no significant differences in progression-free survival (PFS; p = 0.726) or overall survival (OS; p = 0.293) between the two groups. Moreover, patients with persistent CA-125 elevation (3 weeks after IDS) did not have inferior PFS (p = 0.171 and p = 0.208, respectively) or OS (p = 0.128 and p = 0.095, respectively) compared to patients with early normalization (within 3 weeks of IDS) or normal CA-125 levels. Multivariate regression showed that CA-125 re-elevation had no effect on recurrence (hazard ratio [HR], 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.43–1.30) or death (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.33–2.98).ConclusionAmong patients with preoperative CA-125 normalization after NAC, postoperative CA-125 re-elevation had no prognostic value. Novel and reliable biomarkers reflecting the tumor response after IDS should be identified.     

Total Colectomy as a Part of Ultra-Radical Surgery for Ovarian Cancer—Short- and Long-Term Outcomes

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to assess the outcomes for patients who underwent total colectomy (TC) as a part of surgery for ovarian cancer (OC). (2) Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 1636 OC patients. Residual disease (RD) was reported using Sugarbaker’s completeness of cytoreduction score. (3) Results: Forty-two patients underwent TC during primary debulking surgery (PDS), and four and ten patients underwent TC during the interval debulking surgery (IDS) and secondary cytoreduction, respectively. The median overall survival (mOS) in OC patients following the PDS was 45.1 months in those with CC-0 (21%) resection, 11.1 months in those with CC-1 (45%) resection and 20.0 months in those with CC-2 (33%) resection (p = 0.28). Severe adverse events were reported in 18 patients (43%). In the IDS group, two patients survived more than 2 years after IDS and one patient died after 28.6 months. In the recurrent OC group, the mOS was 6.9 months. Patient age above 65 years was associated with a shortened overall survival (OS) and the presence of adverse events. (4) Conclusions: TC as a part of ultra-radical surgery for advanced OC results in high rates of optimal debulking. However, survival benefits were observed only in patients with no macroscopic disease.     

Systematic lymph node dissection during interval debulking surgery for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of systematic lymph node dissection (SyLND) at the time of interval debulking surgery (IDS) for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (AEOC).MethodsSystematic literature review of studies including AEOC patients undergoing SyLND versus selective lymph node dissection (SeLND) or no lymph node dissection (NoLND) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Primary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included severe postoperative complications, lymphocele, lymphedema, blood loss, blood transfusions, operative time, and hospital stay.ResultsNine retrospective studies met the eligibility criteria, involving a total of 1,660 patients: 827 (49.8%) SyLND, 490 (29.5%) SeLND, and 343 (20.7%) NoLND. The pooled estimated hazard ratios (HR) for PFS and OS were, respectively, 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.65–1.20; p=0.43) and 0.80 (95% CI=0.50–1.30; p=0.37). The pooled estimated odds ratios (ORs) for severe postoperative complications, lymphocele, lymphedema, and blood transfusions were, respectively, 1.83 (95% CI=1.19–2.82; p=0.006), 3.38 (95% CI=1.71–6.70; p<0.001), 7.23 (95% CI=3.40–15.36; p<0.0001), and 1.22 (95% CI=0.50–2.96; p=0.67).ConclusionDespite the heterogeneity in the study designs, SyLND after NACT failed to demonstrate a significant improvement in PFS and OS and resulted in a higher risk of severe postoperative complications.Trial RegistrationPROSPERO Identifier: CRD42022303577     

间歇性肿瘤细胞减灭术与初始肿瘤细胞减灭术对晚期上皮性卵巢癌的疗效评价

目的探讨间歇性肿瘤细胞减灭术(IDS)与初始肿瘤细胞减灭术(PDS)对晚期上皮性卵巢癌(EOC)的疗效。方法根据手术方法的不同将132例晚期EOC患者分为PDS组(n=87例)和IDS组(n=45)。PDS组患者行PDS手术后接受6~8个疗程的化疗。IDS组患者行PDS手术后接受3个疗程的化疗,然后再行IDS手术后化疗3~5个疗程。观察两组患者的PDS切除范围,比较两组患者的减瘤满意率、疗效、血清CA125水平和不良反应发生情况。结果IDS组患者的PDS切除范围明显小于PDS组(P﹤0.01)。IDS组患者的减瘤满意率高于PDS组(P﹤0.05)。IDS组患者的临床疗效明显优于PDS组(P﹤0.01)。术前和第3次化疗后,两组患者的血清CA125水平比较,差异均无统计学意义(P﹥0.05)。IDS组患者PDS后的血清CA125水平高于PDS组,完成化疗后的血清CA125水平低于PDS组(P﹤0.05)。IDS组患者的不良反应总发生率低于PDS组(P﹤0.05)。结论IDS有助于提高晚期EOC患者的手术减瘤满意率和近期疗效,且不会显著增加不良反应。     

Asian perspective on debulking surgery for advanced ovarian cancer: An E-survey

PurposeWe performed an E-survey to evaluate the practice patterns in debulking surgery for advanced ovarian cancer in Asia.MethodsWe designed a questionnaire, including 50 questions related to debulking surgery for advanced ovarian cancer. The questionnaire was sent to Gynecologic Oncologic Groups in Asia from December 2016 to February 2017.ResultsA total of 253 gynecologic oncologists from Japan (58.9%), the Republic of Korea (19%), Taiwan (12.6%), and the other counties including China (7.5%), Malaysia (0.8%), Indonesia (0.8%), and Thailand (0.4%) participated in this E-survey. The median number of debulking surgeries per year was 20, and 46.8% of the respondents preferred <1 cm as the criterion for optimal debulking surgery (ODS). The most common barrier and surgical finding precluding ODS were performance status (74.3%) and disease involving the porta hepatis (71.5%). Moreover, 63.2% had a fellowship program, and only 15% or less had opportunities to receive additional training courses in general, thoracic, or urologic surgery. The median percentage of patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) was 30%, and the achieved rate of ODS in primary debulking surgery (PDS) and interval debulking surgery (IDS) was 65% and 80%, respectively. Most of the respondents required three to 6 h for PDS (48.6%) and IDS (58.9%). Moreover, more than 50% depended on ultra-radical surgery conducted by specialists.ConclusionsThe ODS criteria are relatively lenient with a preference for NAC in 30% of the respondents in Asia. This trend might be associated with the dependence on aggressive surgery performed by specialists.     

Days alive and out of hospital after surgical treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer: A Danish nationwide cohort study

ObjectiveDays alive and out of hospital (DAOH) is a validated outcome measure in perioperative trials integrating information on primary hospitalization, readmissions, and mortality. It is negatively associated with advanced age. However, DAOH has not been described for surgical treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), primarily diagnosed in older patients.MethodsWe conducted a Danish nationwide cohort study including patients undergoing debulking surgery for EOC from 2013 to 2018. DAOH was explored for 30 (DAOH30), 90 (DAOH90), and 180 (DAOH180) postoperative days in younger (<70 years) and older (≥70 years) patients with advanced-stage disease stratified by surgical modality (primary (PDS) or interval debulking surgery (IDS)). We examined the associations between patient- and surgical outcomes and low or high DAOH30.ResultsOverall, 1168 patients had stage IIIC-IV disease and underwent debulking surgery. DAOH30 was 22 days [interquartile range (IQR): 18, 25] and 23 days [IQR: 18, 25] for younger and older patients treated with PDS, respectively. For IDS, DAOH30 was 25 days [IQR: 22, 26] for younger and 25 days[IQR: 21, 26] for older patients. We found no significant differences between age cohorts regarding DAOH30, DAOH90, and DAOH180. Low DAOH30 was associated with poor performance status, PDS, extensive surgery, and long duration of surgery in adjusted analysis.ConclusionsDAOH did not differ significantly between age cohorts. Surgical rather than patient-related factors were associated with low DAOH30. Our results likely reflect a high selection of fit older patients for surgery, reducing the patient-related differences between younger and older patients receiving surgical treatment.     

Impact of surgery and chemotherapy timing on outcomes in older versus younger epithelial ovarian cancer patients: A nationwide Danish cohort study

IntroductionTo explore differences in surgical complexity, chemotherapy administration, and treatment delays between younger and older Danish patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).Materials and MethodsWe included a nationwide cohort diagnosed with EOC from 2013 to 2018. We described surgical complexity and outcomes, the extent of chemotherapy and treatment delays stratified by age (<70 and ≥ 70 years), and surgical modality (primary, interval, or no debulking surgery).ResultsIn total, we included 2946 patients. For patients with advanced-stage disease, 52% of the older patients versus 25% of the younger patients did not undergo primary debulking surgery (PDS) or interval debulking surgery (IDS). For patients undergoing PDS or IDS, older patients underwent less extensive surgery and more often had residual disease after surgery >0 cm compared to younger patients. Furthermore, older patients were less often treated with chemotherapy. Older patients had PDS later than younger. We did not find any differences between age groups concerning treatment delays. Two-year cancer-specific survival differed significantly between age groups regardless of curatively intended treatment.DiscussionThis study demonstrates that older patients are treated less actively concerning surgical and oncological treatment than younger patients, leading to worse cancer-specific survival. Older patients do not experience more treatment delays than younger ones.     

Advanced ovarian cancer

Opinion statement Ovarian cancer spreads early in the disease into the abdomen. An en bloc resection of the tumor, according to surgical principle, is not possible in patients with highstage ovarian cancer. At surgery, large pelvic tumor lesions are found together with multiple tumor lesions involving the omentum, bowel, and mesentery together with a diffuse peritoneal carcinomatosis and diaphragmatic involvement. A multimodality approach with cytoreductive surgery and taxol platinum-based chemotherapy is therefore the mainstay of treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. The size of residual disease after surgery is one of the most important prognostic factors for survival. Patients with an optimal tumor cytoreduction (residual lesions smaller than 1 cm) have a significant longer survival (almost two times the median survival) than patients with larger residual lesions [1-5]. This holds true even for patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IV disease [6-10]. Patients in whom all macroscopic tumor is resected do have the longest survival. The 2-year survival of patients with a radical resection of all macroscopic tumors is 80%, in contrast to less than 22% for the patients with lesions larger than 2 cm [4]. An optimal primary cytoreductive surgery can generally be performed in 30% to 50% of patients [11]. Only in more experienced gynecologic oncology centers is the percentage as high as 85%, but sometimes at the cost of an increased morbidity and even mortality [12,13,14-16,17]. The worse prognosis of the patients with a suboptimal primary cytoreductive surgery can be improved by an interval cytoreductive surgery after platinum-containing induction chemotherapy [18,19]. The median survival and progression-free survivals are significantly lengthened by cytoreductive surgery. After more than 5-years follow-up there is still a significant survival benefit: the 5-year survival of the surgery patients was 24% versus 13% for the no-surgery patients (P = 0.0032). All patients, including those with unfavorable prognostic factors (stage IV disease, peritonitis carcinomatosis, or ascites at primary surgery), and even patients with stable disease after induction chemotherapy, seem to benefit from interval cytoreductive surgery. The increase in progression-free survival and overall survival does outweigh the morbidity associated with interval debulking surgery, which is not different from those associated with primary surgery.     

Prognostic value of pre-operative systemic immune-inflammation index and platelet to lymphocyte ratio in peritoneal carcinomatosis of ovarian origin

Background and objectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the impact of systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on the survival outcomes of patients who underwent to cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and HIPEC for ovarian peritoneal carcinomatosis.MethodsA retrospective analysis of 68 cases following surgery at our department between 2015 and 2020 was performed. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used with Youden index to calculate the optimal cutoff values for SII, PLR and NLR.ResultsUnivariate analysis revealed that high preoperative values of SII, PLR and NLR were correlated with worse overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in these patients. In the multivariable analysis, high SII was recognized as an independent prognostic factor for OS (CI 95%: 0.002- 3.835, p = 0.097) and high PLR was recognized as an independent prognostic factor for DFS (CI 95%: 0.253–2.248, p = 0.007).ConclusionSII and PLR could be useful prognostic tools to predict outcomes of patients who underwent to CRS and HIPEC for ovarian peritoneal carcinomatosis.     

Preoperative computed tomography and selection of patients with colorectal peritoneal carcinomatosis for cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

AIM: A survival benefit has been observed for colorectal cancer patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis treated by cytoreductive surgery with intraoperative hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). However, this treatment modality is associated with a considerable morbidity and mortality and in a significant number of patients survival is not improved. We studied whether poor survivors could be identified on preoperative computed tomography (CT), in order to avoid unnecessary surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Films of abdominopelvic CT scans from 25 such patients treated by cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC were retrospectively analysed by two radiologists separately. A simplified peritoneal cancer index (SPCI) was used to determine the extent of peritoneal involvement. Correlation between the on preoperative CT based SPCI-scores as well as number of involved abdominopelvic areas (N) and survival was examined with the log-rank test. The relation between each affected region and survival was evaluated with Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: The preoperative SPCI- and N-scores of one of the radiologists had no statistically significant prognostic value, while for the second radiologist SPCI > or = 7 and N > or = 4 were associated with particularly poor outcome. Additionally, the presence of ileocaecal region involvement and, depending on the radiologist, the occurrence of tumour deposits in the left subdiaphragmatic area on CT appeared to be unfavourable prognostic signs. CONCLUSIONS: The prognostic value of preoperative conventional CT appeared to be radiologist dependent and may, therefore, be of limited value in selecting colorectal cancer patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis who will not benefit from extensive cytoreductive surgery followed by HIPEC.