Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube. A retrospective study of patients reported to the Danish Cancer Registry in a five-year period.

Fifty-two patients with carcinoma of the fallopian tube diagnosed and treated during a 5-year period in Denmark were reviewed. The median age of the patients was 60 years. No patients had a preoperative diagnosis. History and clinical findings were similar to previously reported series. Treatment consisted of hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, often succeeded by postoperative whole pelvic irradiation. Five-year survival was 37.4%, depending on stage. In stage I+II the survival rates were similar regardless of whether postoperative radiation therapy had been given or not. Little is known about the patterns of spread. The relatively bad prognosis for stages I and II after radical surgery indicates early undetected metastases and the need for more aggressive adjunctive therapy.