title: Epithelial ovarian cancer in Greece: a retrospective study of 1,791 patients by the Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group (HeCOG).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this retrospective study was to present the epidemiological, pathological and clinical characteristics and treatment results of Greek women with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).
  
  
  METHODS
  From February 1976 to December 2006, 1,791 patients had been diagnosed, treated and followed up in the participating centers of the Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group (HeCOG). Cox-regression analysis was carried out in order to identify possible prognostic factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median age at diagnosis was 60 years. Seventy-five percent had a performance status (PS) of 0-1, 58.5% had a serous carcinoma, 36% had poorly differentiated tumors and 57% had International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage III disease. Approximately half of the patients had been subjected to a total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral oophorectomy and omentectomy, and 80% of them had undergone optimal debulking surgery. Among 1,462 patients with advanced disease, 96% had received platinum-based chemotherapy, while platinum plus paclitaxel had been administered to two-thirds of them. Among 609 patients with known data for response, 34% had achieved a complete objective response (CR) and 30% a partial response (PR), resulting in an overall response rate (RR) of 64%. Performance status, FIGO stage and residual disease (RD) after cytoreductive surgery were the strongest prognostic factors for time-to-tumor progression (TTP) and for overall survival (OS), while age was found to be significant only for OS. The median TTP was 107 months (95% confidence interval (CI), 92-121 months) for patients with stages I-II, 17 months (95% CI, 15-18 months) for those with stages III-IV 96 months (95% CI, 58-133 months) for patients without RD and 17 months (95% CI, 15-18 months) for those with RD. Median OS had not been reached for the patients with stages I-II, while it was 40 months (95% CI, 37-43 months) for those with stages III-IV, 141 months (95% CI, 103-179 months) for patients without RD and 42 months (95% CI, 39-45 months) for those with RD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There were no significant differences in patient characteristics or types of treatments administered in Greek women with EOC in comparison with those reported in the English literature.
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Propaedeutic, Oncology Section, Attikon University Hospital, Rimini 1, Haidari, Athens, Greece. pectasid@otenet.gr
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pectasides
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papaxoinis
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fountzilas
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aravantinos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bamias
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pavlidis
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Kalofonos
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Timotheadou
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Samantas
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Briasoulis
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Skarlos
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Economopoulos
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dimopoulos