Intervention debulking surgery in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To study whether intervention debulking surgery improves survival in patients with advanced ovarian cancer who have bulky (> 2 cm) residual disease after primary surgery.


METHODS
A prospective multicentre randomised study.


METHODS
Hospitals in the West Midlands.


METHODS
Ovarian cancer patients with bulky residual disease after primary surgery who are considered well enough to receive cis-platinum based chemotherapy and further surgery.


METHODS
Eligible patients were randomised to receive combination chemotherapy alone or combined with intervention debulking surgery.


METHODS
Survival was assessed using product limit method and log-rank test.


RESULTS
Seventy-nine patients were entered into the study. Thirty-seven patients were randomised to intervention debulking surgery, 25 (67%) of whom underwent intervention debulking surgery, which was performed a median of 13 weeks after primary surgery. The median survival for the intervention debulking surgery group was 15 months (95% CI 10-20 mo) and that of those randomised to chemotherapy alone, which was 12 months (95% CI 8-16 mo), were not significantly different (hazard ratio = 0.71; 95% CI 0.44-1.13).


CONCLUSIONS
Intervention debulking surgery may not improve survival in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.
Redman
C W
CW
West Midlands Cancer Research Campaign Clinical Trials Unit, Keele University, Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, UK.
Warwick
J
J
Luesley
D M
DM
Varma
R
R
Lawton
F G
FG
Blackledge
G R
GR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D010053:Ovary / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies