title: Cancer of the ovary. The Johannesburg Hospital experience.
abstract: Experience with 100 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, who underwent primary definitive surgery at Johannesburg Hospital between 1 January 1979 and 31 July 1987, is presented and the absolute 4-year survival figures are compared with those from 1977. For patients with advanced disease (stages III and IV) the 4-year survival rate has improved from 4.4% to 42% (P = 0.001). Reasons for this substantial progress are outlined. Fifty per cent of the patients had nonspecific gastro-intestinal symptoms at the time of diagnosis and 20% had previously undergone hysterectomy. A case is made for prophylactic oophorectomy at the time of hysterectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of the Witwatersrand Hospital, Johannesburg.
authors.forename: E W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Sonnendecker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D013019:South Africa