Recurrent micropapillary serous ovarian carcinoma: The role of secondary cytoreductive surgery

BACKGROUND. The objectives of the current study were to: 1) characterize the clinical outcome of patients with recurrent micropapillary serous ovarian carcinoma (MPSC) and 2) evaluate the survival impact of secondary cytoreductive surgery and other prognostic variables. METHODS. Twenty-six patients with recurrent MPSC were identified retrospectively from hospital and tumor registry databases. Survival curves were generated from the time of tumor recurrence using the Kaplan-Meier method and statistical comparisons were performed using the log-rank test, logistic regression analysis, and the Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS. The median age of the patients at the time of recurrence was 46 years. The mean progression-free interval was 31.6 months, and 92% of patients had advanced stage disease at the time of the initial diagnosis. Twenty-one patients underwent secondary cytoreductive surgery; tumor debulking was performed in 90.5% of cases and 52.4% of patients required an intestinal resection. Optimal resection (residual disease ≤ 1 cm) was achieved in 15 patients (71.4%). Patients undergoing optimal secondary cytoreduction had a median survival time of 61.2 months from the date of disease recurrence, compared with 25.5 months for those patients in whom suboptimal residual disease remained (P < 0.02) and 29.9 months for nonsurgical patients (P < 0.01). On multivariate analysis, optimal secondary cytoreduction was found to be the only independent predictor of survival. Salvage chemotherapy produced an objective response in 25% of patients with measurable disease. The administration of chemotherapy prior to surgical intervention was associated with a trend toward worse survival and a lower likelihood of optimal secondary cytoreduction. CONCLUSIONS. Optimal secondary cytoreductive surgery is feasible in the majority of patients with recurrent MPSC and is an independent predictor of subsequent survival. Surgical intervention should be considered for those patients with recurrent MPSC. [See editorials on pages 675-6 and 677-80, this issue.]