Ten-year relative survival for epithelial ovarian cancer.
OBJECTIVE
Most patients with epithelial ovarian cancer who are alive at 5 years have active disease. Thus, 10-year survival rather than 5-year survival may be a more appropriate endpoint. Relative survival adjusts for the general survival of the United States population for that race, sex, age, and date at which the diagnosis was coded. Our objective was to estimate relative survival in epithelial ovarian cancer over the course of 10 years.


METHODS
Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results 1995-2007 database, epithelial ovarian cancer cases were identified. Using the actuarial life table method, relative survival over the course of 10 years was calculated, stratified by stage, classification of residence, surgery as the first course of treatment, race, and age.


RESULTS
There were 40,692 patients who met inclusion criteria. The overall relative survival was 65%, 44%, and 36% at 2, 5, and 10 years, respectively. The slope of decline in relative survival was reduced for years 5-10 as compared with years 1-5 after diagnosis. Relative survival at 5 years was 89%, 70%, 36%, and 17%, and at 10 years relative survival was 84%, 59%, 23%, and 8% for stages I, II III, and IV, respectively. At all stages, patients with nonsurgical primary treatment and those with advanced age had reduced relative survival.


CONCLUSIONS
The 10-year relative survival for stage III is higher than expected. This information provides the physician and the patient with more accurate prognostic information.
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Lauren A
LA
Baldwin
Bin
B
Huang
Rachel W
RW
Miller
Thomas
T
Tucker
Scott T
ST
Goodrich
Iwona
I
Podzielinski
Christopher P
CP
DeSimone
Fred R
FR
Ueland
John R
JR
van Nagell
Leigh G
LG
Seamon
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000077216:Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015993:Life Tables; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D018426:SEER Program; D015996:Survival Rate; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology