Clinical outcomes of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and primary debulking surgery in advanced ovarian carcinoma

Primary debulking surgery (PDS) and paclitaxel-platinum chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment for advanced ovarian cancer. However, there is considerable morbidity and even mortality associated with this approach. The concept of primary chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery (IDS) has emerged for advanced stage disease with the aim of improving sensitivity to chemotherapy and improving survival. The purpose of our study was to examine the impact of IDS on clinical outcomes of patients considered unsuitable for PDS and compare them with outcomes of women that had conventional PDS followed by chemotherapy.

A non-randomised prospective cohort study of 35 patients who underwent IDS and 29 patients treated with PDS were included. All patients had Stage IIIC or IV disease. The IDS patients were considered unresectable based on an initial laparoscopy or preoperative computed tomography findings. All patients were treated by the same lead surgeons and received the same regimen of chemotherapy.

The median intraoperative blood loss, the incidence of pelvic lymphadenectomies, the median hospital stay and the possibility of admission to the Intensive Care Unit were significantly less in the IDS group. Optimal cytoreduction was higher in the IDS compared to the PDS group, but did not reach statistical significance.

IDS for advanced ovarian cancer may be associated with less morbidity compared to PDS and appears to require less use of hospital resources. If the ongoing randomised studies confirm that IDS does not adversely affect the long-term survival of these patients, morbidity related to ovarian cancer surgery may evolve as a crucial factor for choosing treatment options.