Cancer metastatic to the ovary: factors influencing survival.

In the period 1950 through 1966, 357 patients with cancer metastatic to the ovaries were treated at the Mayo Clinic. The majority of primary tumors arose in the gastrointestinal tract. Factors influencing survival included the site of the primary cancer, histologic grade of the neoplasm, menstrual status, and the type of treatment. Patients whose cancers originated in the genital tract had the lowest mean death rate. Although analyses of survival confirm the observation that cancer metastatic to the ovaries has a poor overall prognosis, 21 of the 357 patients were still living at 10 years and 7 of these patients survived for at least 20 years. The continued development of improved technics of radiation therapy and of more effective chemotherapeutic agents should facilitate intensive therapy for patients with metastatic cancer of the ovaries and result in improved survival.