Prognostic factors for stage III epithelial ovarian cancer treated with intraperitoneal chemotherapy: A Gynecologic Oncology Group study

Abstract Objectives To determine prognostic factors for survival in ovarian cancer patients treated with intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy using ancillary data from cooperative group clinical trials. Methods Data were collected from 428 patients with stage III ovarian cancer who underwent optimal surgical cytoreduction (< 1 cm) followed by IP paclitaxel/platinum chemotherapy. Primary endpoints were progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Potential prognostic variables were included in Cox proportional hazard regression models. Multivariate analysis was conducted to identify independent prognostic factors. Results Median PFS was 24.9 months (95% CI, 23.0–29.2) and median OS was 61.8 months (95% CI, 55.5–69.8). Predictors for PFS were histology, surgical stage and residual disease. Age, histology, and residual disease were prognostic for OS. There were no differences in the hazard ratio for death or progression between patients with positive, negative, or unknown lymph node status. For patients receiving IP chemotherapy (n = 428), 36% of patients had no residual disease with median PFS of 43.2 months (95% CI 32.5–60.4) and median OS of 110 months (95% CI, 60.0–161.3). Conclusions Age, histology, and extent of residual disease were predictors of OS in stage III patients treated with IP chemotherapy following optimal cytoreduction. Patients with no residual disease following primary surgery that are treated with adjuvant platinum based IP chemotherapy have survival measures that exceed any rates previously seen in this population.