Predictive factors of recurrence in patients with early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE

To identify predictive factors of recurrence and survival in patients with early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer (eEOC).

METHODS

We retrospectively searched the medical records of all women undergoing optimal surgical staging for eEOC (stage I-II) at the National Cancer Institute of Milan, Italy, between January 1, 1974, and December 31, 2014.

RESULTS

During the study period, 429 patients underwent primary surgery followed by either adjuvant chemotherapy or observation alone for apparent eEOC. In multivariable analysis, International Federation for Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage greater than 1 (hazard ratio [HR] 2.49, 95% CI 1.24-4.99) was the only prognostic factor for lower disease-free survival. Multivariate analysis showed that age at diagnosis (HR 1.68, 95% CI 1.14-2.47) and stage (HR 2.29, 95% CI 1.01-6.39) were independent predictive factors for poorer overall survival (OS).

CONCLUSIONS

FIGO stage is the most important prognostic factor for recurrence and survival in patients with eEOC. Furthermore, age at diagnosis was identified as a factor that negatively influenced OS. Our data for oncologic outcomes are similar to those reported in previous studies.