Carcinosarcoma of the ovary

We report our experience in the management of patients with carcinosarcoma of the ovary, a rare but aggressive variant of ovarian cancer. Forty patients were treated at a single centre, which is the largest reported series. The median age at diagnosis was 65 years (range 45–86) and the median Karnof...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of cancer 2003-03, Vol.88 (5), p.654-657
Main Authors: Harris, M A, Delap, L M, Sengupta, P S, Wilkinson, P M, Welch, R S, Swindell, R, Shanks, J H, Wilson, G, Slade, R J, Reynolds, K, Jayson, G C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Antineoplastic Agents - administration & dosage
Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cancer Research
Cancer therapies
Carcinosarcoma - drug therapy
Carcinosarcoma - pathology
Chemotherapy
Clinical
Demography
Disease-Free Survival
Drug Resistance
Epidemiology
Female
Female genital diseases
Gynecology
Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics
Histopathology
Humans
Medical prognosis
Medical research
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Molecular Medicine
Oncology
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian Neoplasms - drug therapy
Ovarian Neoplasms - pathology
Recurrence
Surgery
Survival Analysis
Tumors
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Summary:We report our experience in the management of patients with carcinosarcoma of the ovary, a rare but aggressive variant of ovarian cancer. Forty patients were treated at a single centre, which is the largest reported series. The median age at diagnosis was 65 years (range 45–86) and the median Karnofsky performance (KP) status was 70. Thirty-two patients (80%) presented with FIGO stage III or IV disease. Twenty-four had heterologous and 14 homologous carcinosarcoma on review of histopathology, but there was no significant difference in survival between these groups ( P =0.28). Twenty-seven of the 40 patients had bulk residual disease present after surgery and this was associated with a worse prognosis ( P =0.045). Chemotherapy was given to 32 patients (80%) of whom 26 (81%) received platinum-based regimens. Of these 32 patients, three (9.4%) achieved a complete response (CR), 10 (31%) a partial response (PR), five (16%) had stable disease, 10 (31%) had progressive disease and four were not assessable. Of the 19 patients who had a CR, PR or stable disease after chemotherapy or were unevaluable (stage Ic), the median survival was 29.6 months. Currently, seven patients are still alive although one has cancer. The overall censored median survival was 8.7 months after a median follow-up of 34 months, and the 1- and 5-year survival were 40 and 7.5%, respectively.
ISSN:0007-0920
1532-1827
DOI:10.1038/sj.bjc.6600770