Primary ovarian cancer

Sixty-six patients with primary ovarian cancer were treated at National Taiwan University Hospital from 1981 to 1985. About 21% of the patients were in stage I, 18% in stage II, 50% in stage III and 11% in stage IV. The distribution of histologic types included 73% epithelial, 15% germ cell, 9% gonadal stroma, and 3% of non-specific mesenchymal origin. The ages at diagnosis ranged from 8 to 83 years. Peak incidence was noted between 50-59 years. Mean ages for epithelial, non-epithelial, and germ cell ovarian cancers were 52, 29, and 22 years, respectively. Most (47%) of the patients were treated by surgery plus chemotherapy. Complete surgical removal of the tumor mass was done for all 14 patients with stage I ovarian cancer. Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy plus total abdominal hysterectomy was performed in 67% of stage II, 40% of stage III, and no stage IV case. The rates of occult bilaterality in the contralateral ovary for stage I to IV were 0%, 25%, 29% and 100%, respectively. Survival in ovarian cancer is a function of clinical stage and histologic type. The 2-year survival rates for stage I to stage IV were 71%, 67%, 33%, and 0%, respectively. The 2-year survival rate was 78% for non-epithelial ovarian cancer, and 26% for epithelial ovarian cancer.