[Treatment of primary cancer of the fallopian tube]

33 patients treated since 1970 at the Medical School of the University of Graz, were classified using the FIGO system for ovarian carcinoma, fourteen were in stage I, 8 stage II, 8 stage III and 3 stage IV. In 17 patients, surgery consisted of total abdominal or vaginal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy; 12 patients underwent additional pelvic +/- paraaortic lymph node extirpation and in 4 the tumour excision was incomplete. Treatment in 6 patients was surgery alone (2/stage I, 4 with advanced disease) (Group A). Adjuvant radiotherapy was performed in 14 patients (Group B); the remaining patients were treated with single (2/13) or multiple agent chemotherapy (11/13) (Group C). The 3-year survival rate was 55% for stage I, 42% for stage II; 10/11 of the stage III/IV patients died within 26 months. The 4-year actuarial survival rate for group B was 68%, for group C 11%. There was no difference between the short-time results of stage II tumours when comparing radiotherapy against chemotherapy. The tumour progression rate was 60%, indicating the need for radical surgery as well as for more aggressive adjuvant treatment. Surgery alone is recommended for stage I disease confined to the mucosa. More advanced disease (extension to the serosa, stage Ic, stage II) requires whole abdominal irradiation with a boost to the pelvic lymph nodes. For stage III/IV tumours a multi-modality treatment is recommended. Chemotherapy (cis-platinum, cyclophosphamide) for recurrent disease resulted in remission in some cases.