Retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy, including the para-aortic nodes in patients with stage III ovarian cancer

The role of lymphadenectomy in patients with advanced ovarian cancer is controversial. To evaluate the effect of lymphadenectomy, we retrospectively assessed the outcome of 53 patients with stage III epithelial ovarian cancer who were divided into two groups, which were matched for age distribution and postoperative chemotherapy, but received different surgical procedures. A total of 29 patients (group A) underwent hysterectomy, bilateral salpingoophorectomy, omentectomy, and retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy, including resection of the para-aortic nodes. The remaining 24 patients (group B) received hysterectomy, bilateral salpingoophorectomy, and omentectomy without retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy. Postoperative chemotherapy consisted of a combination of cisplatin, Adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide in both groups. The 2-year survival rate for group A was significantly greater than that for group B, but there was no significant difference between the groups with regard to the estimated 5-year survival rate. The 2-year survival rate of patients with positive nodes who underwent lymphadenectomy was similar to that of patients with negative nodes. Multivariate analysis indicated that lymph node involvement did not relate to prognosis of the patients undergoing lymphadenectomy. While a defined randomized trial is required to reach substantive conclusion, it is suggested that lymphadenectomy may be useful for improvement of the prognosis of patients with advanced ovarian cancer.