Researchers from John Hopkins and the Cedar-Sinai Medical Center have reported that patients with ovarian cancer who have a recurrence in a lymph node have favorable survival when the involved lymph node is entirely or almost entirely removed. The details of this study appeared in the March 2007, issue of Gynecologic Oncology.
The role of secondary surgery in women with ovarian cancer is controversial. However, there may be selected patients who clearly benefit from this approach. Researchers involved in this study performed a retrospective review of the effects of secondary surgery for isolated nodal recurrence of ovarian cancer. This study included 25 patients, the majority of whom had initially been diagnosed with advanced, aggressive ovarian cancer. Participants had received prior surgery followed by chemotherapy with a platinum agent cisplatin or carboplatin. Optimal cytoreduction (surgery to remove cancer with 1 centimeter or less of cancer remaining) was achieved in all patients.
- The median length of hospitalization was four days.
- There were no significant side effects associated with surgery.
- At a median of 19 months, 40% of patients were alive with no evidence of cancer, 28% were alive with evidence of cancer, and 32% had died of the disease.
- The median overall survival following surgery was 37 months.
These researchers concluded that optimal cytoreductive surgery for patients with ovarian cancer that has recurred in a single lymph node “is associated with a favorable long-term survival outcome.” Patients with recurrent ovarian cancer may wish to discuss with their physician their individual risks and benefits of surgery.
Comments: Surgery appears to be relative effective in this select group of women with residual or recurrent ovarian cancer limited to isolated node metastasis.
Reference: Santillan A, Karam A, Li A, et al. Secondary cytoreductive surgery for isolated nodal recurrence in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Gynecologic Oncology. 2007; 104: 686-690.
Related News:
Lymphadenectomy Does Not Improve Survival in Advanced Ovarian Cancer (5/5/2005)
Additional Surgery Does Not Improve Survival for Women with Advanced Ovarian Cancer (1/19/2005)
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