Improved 8-Year Survival for Patients With Stage IIIC Ovarian Cancer Operated on at Teaching Hospitals: Population-Based Study in Norway 2002

Background

The aim of this study was to find out the long-term survival of patients with primary International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIIC epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC IIIC) in a population-based patient cohort treated in Norway in 2002.

Patients and Methods

All 198 women with a diagnosis of EOC IIIC who underwent surgery were included. The data were derived from notifications to the Norwegian Cancer Registry and medical, surgical, and histopathologic records. The hospitals were grouped into teaching hospitals (THs) and nonteaching hospitals (NTHs). The follow-up period was from 0 to 106 months.

Results

The long-term survival at 8 years was 15% for women operated on at THs and 10% for women operated on at NTHs (P < .05). The median survival was 35.6 months at THs and 23.4 months at NTHs (P < .05). After simultaneous adjustment for 4 prognostic factors (age, histologic type, grade of differentiation, and residual disease), the risk of death within 8 years at NTHs was unchanged, with a hazard ratio of 1.38 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-1.89), compared with THs.

Conclusion

Patients operated on for EOC IIIC at THs achieved better long-term survival than did patients operated on at NTHs. Centralization of EOC IIIC surgery should be introduced in all countries to improve outcomes for this patient group.