Improved survival for stage IIIC ovarian cancer patients treated at the Norwegian Radium Hospital between 1984 and 2001.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to evaluate the treatment of FIGO Stage IIIC patients who were primarily treated completely or partially at the Norwegian Radium Hospital (NRH) during a 15-year period in order to discover possibilities for improvement of prognosis of advanced ovarian cancer.


METHODS
A retrospective study based on record information from all patients with epithelial ovarian cancer Stage IIIC treated at NRH from 1985-2000, in total 776 patients.


RESULTS
We found age, amount of residual tumour after surgery for primary treatment and type of chemotherapy to be the most significant prognostic factors for overall survival. During the last 5-year period primary surgery was increasingly centralised, and surgery was improved with lymph node staging and use of paclitaxel. Survival was significantly better during the last 5-year period and after macroscopic radical surgery. Also progression-free survival was better with no macroscopic tumour remaining.


CONCLUSIONS
Improved survival during the last 5-year period is partly attributed to improved surgery and partly to the addition of paclitaxel. We believe that further centralisation of primary surgery for advanced ovarian cancer can contribute to a better prognosis.
Oksefjell
H
H
Department of Gynaecologic Oncology, The Norwegian Radium Hospital HF, Oslo, Norway.
Sandstad
B
B
Tropé
C
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies