Research article
Activity of chemotherapy in mucinous ovarian cancer with a recurrence free interval of more than 6 months: results from the SOCRATES retrospective study
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* Corresponding author: Sandro Pignata sandro.pignata@fondazionepascale.it
1 Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Napoli, Italy
2 Policlinico Agostino Gemelli, Ginecologia Oncologica, Roma, Italy
3 Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Clinica Ostetrico-Ginecologica, Milano, Italy
4 A.O. S. Cannizzaro, Ginecologia ed Ostetricia, Catania, Italy
5 A.O. Spedali Civili-Università degli Studi di Brescia, II Ginecologia ed Ostetricia, Brescia, Italy
6 Azienda Ospedaliera Policlinico, II Ginecologia e Ostetricia, Bari, Italy
7 Azienda Ospedaliera O.I.R.M.-S. Anna, Ginecologica Oncologica, Università di Torino, Italy
8 Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo, U.O. di Ginecologia, Bergamo, Italy
9 Ospedale Policlinico S. Matteo, Ostetrica e Ginecologica, Pavia, Italy
10 Università dell'Insubria Clinica Ginecologia e Ostetrica, Varese, Italy
11 Azienda Ospedaliera S. Carlo, Oncologia Medica, Potenza, Italy
12 Università Federico II, Oncologia Medica, Napoli, Italy
13 Ospedale S. Giovanni-Fatebene Fratelli-Isola Tiberina, Oncologia Medica, Roma, Italy
14 A.O. Vincenzo Cervello, Ostetricia e Ginecologia, Palermo, Italy
15 Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori – IRST, Meldola (FC), Italy
16 Casa di cura Malzoni, Ginecologia Oncologica, Avellino, Italy
17 CRO AVIANO, Oncologia Medica, Aviano, Italy
18 Ospedale S. Raffaele, Ginecologia Oncologica Medica, Milano, Italy
19 Ospedale S. Vincenzo, Oncologia Medica, Taormina, Italy
20 QBGROUP spa, Padova, Italy
BMC Cancer 2008, 8:252 doi:10.1186/1471-2407-8-252
Published: 1 September 2008Abstract
Background
Mucinous ovarian carcinoma have a poorer prognosis compared with other histological subtypes. The aim of this study was to evaluate, retrospectively, the activity of chemotherapy in patients with platinum sensitive recurrent mucinous ovarian cancer.
Methods
The SOCRATES study retrospectively assessed the pattern of care of a cohort of patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer observed in the years 2000–2002 in 37 Italian centres. Data were collected between April and September 2005. Patients with recurrent ovarian cancer with > 6 months of platinum free interval were considered eligible.
Results
Twenty patients with mucinous histotype and 388 patients with other histotypes were analyzed. At baseline, mucinous tumours differed from the others for an higher number of patients with lower tumor grading (p = 0.0056) and less advanced FIGO stage (p = 0.025). At time of recurrence, a statistically significant difference was found in performance status (worse in mucinous, p = 0.024). About 20% of patients underwent secondary cytoreduction in both groups, but a lower number of patients were optimally debulked in the mucinous group (p = 0.03). Patients with mucinous cancer received more frequently single agent platinum than platinum based-combination therapy or other non-platinum schedules as second line therapy (p = 0.026), with a response rate lower than in non-mucinous group (36.4% vs 62.6%, respectively, p = 0.04). Median time to progression and overall survival were worse for mucinous ovarian cancer. Finally, mucinous cancer received a lower number of chemotherapy lines (p = 0.0023).
Conclusion
This analysis shows that platinum sensitive mucinous ovarian cancer has a poor response to chemotherapy. Studies dedicated to this histological subgroup are needed.