Effects of Gastrointestinal-Type Chemotherapy in Women With Ovarian Mucinous Carcinoma

To estimate whether gastrointestinal-type chemotherapy was associated with improved survival compared with standard gynecologic regimens for women with ovarian mucinous carcinoma.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with ovarian mucinous carcinoma who received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy at two academic centers. Demographic and clinical information was abstracted from the medical records. Gastrointestinal-type chemotherapy contained 5-fluorouracil, capecitabine, irinotecan, or oxaliplatin. Gynecologic regimens included standard carboplatin or cisplatin. Bevacizumab treatment was allowed in both groups. Summary statistics were used to compare baseline characteristics; Kaplan-Meier product-limit estimator was used to compare survival outcomes.

Fifty-two patients received either gastrointestinal-type chemotherapy (n=26; 50%) or a standard gynecologic regimen (n=26; 50%). Three-quarters of tumors were early-stage (I or II), 68% grade 1 or 2 and 88% of patients had no gross residual disease after surgery. Patients receiving gastrointestinal-type chemotherapy were more likely to receive bevacizumab (50% vs 4%; P<.001), but there were no other differences in clinical or demographic characteristics. Unadjusted overall survival analyses showed that gastrointestinal-type chemotherapy was associated with better overall survival (hazard ratio 0.2, 95% CI 0.1-0.8), as were early stage tumors and having no gross residual disease.

Gastrointestinal-type chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab was associated with improved survival and should be considered in patients with ovarian mucinous carcinoma requiring adjuvant therapy.