Clinical Outcomes among Women with Mucinous Adenocarcinoma of the Ovary

Abstract

Background/aims: Patterns of metastasis and clinical behavior of mucinous ovarian cancers are poorly understood because of their rarity.

Methods: A retrospective review of records of women identified with pure mucinous invasive ovarian/tubal/peritoneal cancer during 1992-2012 at one institution. Survival differences were compared using Kaplan-Meier methods with log-rank tests.

Results: Among 42 women with mucinous adenocarcinomas, the median age was 55 (range 33-83 years). Most cancers were well differentiated (n = 26, 68%) and in stage I/II (n = 31, 74%). One of 27 women with sampled nodes had nodal metastasis; one additional woman had recurrence in a pelvic node. Most had no visible residual tumor after initial surgery, but of 10 women with stage III/IV cancer and documented residual, 8 had >2 cm residual. Except for 1 woman alive with disease at last follow-up, all who had a recurrence died of the disease. Five-year survival was 83% for stage I/II cases but 29% among stage III/IV cases. Stage was a strong predictor of survival (hazard ratio of death among women with stage III/IV cancer 7.73, 95% CI 2.33-25.66, p < 0.001 vs. women with stage I/II cancer).

Conclusion: Mucinous ovarian cancers have a distinct biology, such that lymphadenectomy for staging is unnecessary and metastatic cancers have poor prognosis.