Fallopian tube carcinoma: a clinicopathological study of 17 cases

From 1969 through 1986, 17 patients with primary adenocarcinoma of the fallopian tube were treated at the Loma Linda University Medical Center. Stages I, II, and III of the disease were present in 6, 5, and 6 patients, respectively. The mean age of the patients was 59.9 years. Vaginal bleeding or discharge (57%), followed by abdominal pain or discomfort (29%), was the most common symptom in our patients. A palpable pelvic mass was detected in two-thirds of the patients. One case of carcinosarcoma, one case of mixed mesodermal tumor, and one case of endometrioid carcinoma are included. No patient in this series had a correct preoperative diagnosis. Therapy consisted of surgical resection, usually followed by various combinations of adjuvant radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. The overall 5-year survival rate was 31%. Five patients (29%) are alive without evidence of disease. This study supports the need for collaboration among large centers to define the optimal adjuvant therapy of this disease. In the absence of the desired treatment protocols, such lesions should be approached in a manner similar to that used for ovarian cancers.