Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary: A Rare Tumor With a Poor Prognosis.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the demographic and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of women diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the ovary. METHODS: The National Cancer Data Base was accessed, and women diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the ovary, between 2004 and 2014 were identified. Median and 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were calculated following generation of Kaplan-Meir curves and compared with the log-rank test. A Cox multivariate model was constructed to identify variables associated with mortality. RESULTS: A total 469 women were identified with a median age of 39 years; 81.7% of tumors were unilateral, whereas median size was 13 cm. Only 20.1% of patients had stage I disease. Women who underwent cancer-directed surgery had a 5-year OS rate of 24.1%. Five-year OS rates were 48.6%, 30.7%, 18%, and 12.3% for those with stages I, II, III, and IV disease, respectively, P < 0.001. Younger age (P = 0.013) and the combination of surgery with chemotherapy (CT) (P < 0.001) were associated with superior OS. By multivariate analysis, earlier disease stage and use of CT, but not patient age or performance of lymphadenectomy, were associated with lower mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Small cell carcinomas of the ovary are unilateral tumors primarily arising in premenopausal women. Multimodal treatment with cancer-directed surgery and CT results in a modest increase of a generally poor survival.
