title: Ovarian sarcoma carries a poorer prognosis than ovarian epithelial cancer throughout all FIGO stages: a single-center case-control matched study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ovarian sarcomas are poorly-studied rare tumors.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare evolutions of sarcomas and epithelial ovarian carcinomas treated similarly.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven patients with ovarian sarcomas were retrospectively identified over 12 years at a single tertiary center, the Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest. They were matched to similar patients with epithelial ovarian cancer treated in the same center, by the same surgical teams and according to the same principles in an attempt to clarify the survival difference according to histopathological type with interference given by the above-mentioned variables (surgeon, center, management strategies) eliminated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage II, overall survival for patients with sarcoma was 90.5 months while for those with epithelial carcinoma it was 113 months (p=0.048). For stage IIIB, overall survival for those with sarcomas was 62 months, while for those with epithelial carcinoma it was 81 months. For stage IIIC, overall survival for those with sarcoma was 14.5 months while it was 55 months for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (p=0.007). For stage IV overall survival for sarcomas is 2 months while for epithelial cancer is 6 months (p=0.09).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Survival and disease-free interval for patients with ovarian sarcoma are lower than those for patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma. Re-laparotomy for ovarian sarcoma relapse does not seem to bring any survival benefit.
authors.affiliation: Carol Davila U.M.F., Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Nicolae
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bacalbasa
authors.affiliation: Ponderas Hospital, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Balescu
authors.affiliation: Dan Setlacec Center of General Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dima
authors.affiliation: Carol Davila U.M.F., Bucharest, Romania Dan Setlacec Center of General Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania irinel.popescu220@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Irinel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Popescu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000077216:Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D010053:Ovary / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate
keywords: Ovarian sarcoma; case–control study; epithelial ovarian carcinoma