Is it possible to define an optimal time for chemotherapy after surgery for ovarian cancer?

The aims of this study are to investigate the actual time from primary surgery for epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) to initiation of chemotherapy (TI) amongst Danish women in 2005-2006, and to compare the survival for groups with early initiation (≤median TI) and late initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy (>median TI).

All Danish women who underwent surgery for OC in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2006 and recorded in the Danish Gynaecological Cancer Database (DGCD) were included. The five-year survival was estimated overall and by TI exposure. The Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to compute the adjusted hazard ratio (HR).

The median TI was 32days (25-75% quartile: 24days; 41days). The strongest prognostic factors for death were residual tumour and the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FIGO) stage. The unadjusted HR for death in patients with TI>32days compared with TI≤32days was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.70; 1.04), p-value 0.12. When adjusted for residual tumour and FIGO-stage the HR was 1.13 (95% CI: 0.92; 1.39), p-value 0.26. The overall five-year survival was 42.8%, (95% CI: 38.9%; 46.5%).

This nationwide population-based cohort study revealed a non-significant increased risk of death for patients with TI>32days compared with the reference TI≤32days. The strongest prognostic factors were residual tumour after surgery and FIGO-stage. The overall five-year survival was 42.8% (95% CI: 38.9%; 46.5%).