Ovarian cancer staging: does it require a gynecologic oncologist?

Forty-seven patients with presumed Stages I-II invasive ovarian epithelial carcinoma were treated with intravenous 50 mg/m2 cis-platinum, for 2-18 cycles (median, 9), 50 mg/m2 doxorubicin for 2-14 cycles (median, 9), and/or 600 mg/m2 cyclophosphamide for 2-14 cycles (median, 6) after surgical staging by a gynecologic oncologist or a nononcologic surgeon. Mean follow-up is 6.8 years. Cumulative 5-year actuarial survival is 73 +/- 6%; 75 +/- 12% for Stage I and 71 +/- 8% for Stage II disease. When screened for poor prognosticators, only the specialty of the operating surgeon was identified (P < 0.05). Five-year actuarial survival and disease-free survival, respectively, for Stages I-II patients surgically staged by a gynecologic oncologist were 83 +/- 7% and 76 +/- 8%, compared to 59 +/- 11% (P < 0.05) and 39 +/- 11% (P < 0.03) for the group operated upon by a nononcologist.