title: Activity of chemotherapy in mucinous ovarian cancer with a recurrence free interval of more than 6 months: results from the SOCRATES retrospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mucinous ovarian carcinoma have a poorer prognosis compared with other histological subtypes. The aim of this study was to evaluate, retrospectively, the activity of chemotherapy in patients with platinum sensitive recurrent mucinous ovarian cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The SOCRATES study retrospectively assessed the pattern of care of a cohort of patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer observed in the years 2000-2002 in 37 Italian centres. Data were collected between April and September 2005. Patients with recurrent ovarian cancer with > 6 months of platinum free interval were considered eligible.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty patients with mucinous histotype and 388 patients with other histotypes were analyzed. At baseline, mucinous tumours differed from the others for an higher number of patients with lower tumor grading (p = 0.0056) and less advanced FIGO stage (p = 0.025). At time of recurrence, a statistically significant difference was found in performance status (worse in mucinous, p = 0.024). About 20% of patients underwent secondary cytoreduction in both groups, but a lower number of patients were optimally debulked in the mucinous group (p = 0.03). Patients with mucinous cancer received more frequently single agent platinum than platinum based-combination therapy or other non-platinum schedules as second line therapy (p = 0.026), with a response rate lower than in non-mucinous group (36.4% vs 62.6%, respectively, p = 0.04). Median time to progression and overall survival were worse for mucinous ovarian cancer. Finally, mucinous cancer received a lower number of chemotherapy lines (p = 0.0023).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This analysis shows that platinum sensitive mucinous ovarian cancer has a poor response to chemotherapy. Studies dedicated to this histological subgroup are needed.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Napoli, Italy. sandro.pignata@fondazionepascale.it
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pignata
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrandina
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scarfone
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Scollo
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Odicino
authors.forename: Gennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cormio
authors.forename: Dionyssios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Katsaros
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mereu
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ghezzi
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manzione
authors.forename: Rossella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lauria
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Breda
authors.forename: Desiderio Gueli
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Alletti
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ballardini
authors.forename: Alessandra Vernaglia
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sorio
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mangili
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Priolo
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Magni
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morabito