Effective palliative radiotherapy for symptomatic recurrent or residual ovarian cancer

To evaluate the efficacy of radiotherapy (RT) for symptomatic recurrent or residual ovarian cancer.

A review was conducted on patients (pts) treated with palliative RT for symptomatic ovarian cancer at The Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Centre between 1990 and 2003. Patient demographics, tumor factors, treatment variables, and clinical outcome were entered into a database. Symptom response was defined as complete (CR), partial (PR), or none.

62 courses of RT were delivered to 53 pts. The symptoms treated were: bleeding (40%), pain (37%), and "others" (23%). The most common dose fractionation scheme was 30 Gy in 10 fractions (f) (range: 5 Gy/1 f to 52.5 Gy/20 f). The overall response rate was 100%, with 68% achieving a CR. The CR rates were 88, 65, and 36% for the symptoms of bleeding, pain, and "others", respectively (P = 0.003). The median duration of response was 4.8 months (range: 1-71 months). In multivariate analysis, the only factors that were found to be significant positive predictors of symptom control were: the symptom bleeding (P = 0.015) and stage III/IV disease at presentation (P = 0.01). The most commonly reported toxicities were grades 1 and 2 nausea/vomiting and diarrhea. There were no grade 3/4 toxicities reported.

Radiotherapy is highly effective in palliating symptomatic ovarian cancer. Excellent results are achieved for patients presenting with bleeding or pain. Symptomatic patients should be strongly considered for palliative radiotherapy. Higher doses of radiotherapy should be considered for those with symptoms other than bleeding or pain and those with longer life expectancies.