Original ResearchIs lymphadenectomy necessary in mucinous ovarian cancer? A single institution experience

- No evidence of metastatic disease was found in the dissected pelvic nodes in patients with mucinous ovarian cancer.
- Overall survival (OS) in patients who did not undergo lymphadenectomy was 44 months (CI95% 23-64); in the lymphadenectomy group, mean survival was 83 months (CI95% 67-100).
- No significant differences were found that were independently associated with lower or greater overall survival.
- Our results suggest that routine lymphadenectomy may be excluded in women with clinically apparent primary mucinous ovarian cancer.

BackgroundAccording to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) guidelines, every patient diagnosed with ovarian cancer (OC) should undergo a complete staging procedure to adequately assess tumor spread. The role of lymphadenectomy in the initial management of primary early mucinous ovarian cancer (MOC) remains unclear.ObjectiveTo describe the prevalence of pelvic and para-aortic node metastases in MOC.Materials and MethodsThe records of patients with MOC treated at our Institute during January 2005 to December 2011 were assessed. A descriptive and comparative analysis was conducted. Overall survival (OS) and diseases-free period (DFP) were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method and were compared with the log-rank test.ResultsOf 31 patients with MOC, 14 (45.16%) underwent lymphadenectomy, obtaining 190 pelvic nodes, with a median of 9 pelvic lymph nodes removed per patient (interquartile range = 15). There was no evidence of metastatic disease in the dissected pelvic nodes.ConclusionThese results suggest that complete surgical staging with lymph node dissection has no effect on recurrence, disease-free period, and overall survival of patients with early stage MOC.