Ovarian cancer (OC) is the eighth most common cancer worldwide and is usually diagnosed in advanced stages. Despite many available data, no treatment results have been reviewed in Poland. This study enrolled 289 first-time patients treated between 2018 and 2021 by the Department of Oncology of the Poznań University of Medical Sciences (SKPP). The relationships among starting treatment in our centre, the type of first intervention, and the final decision were significant (p < 0.001). Patients in the SKPP group were more likely to primarily have a laparoscopy and less likely to have an exploratory laparotomy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) after a laparotomy was less often a final decision among SKPP patients (9% vs. 22%), in contrary to NACT after a laparoscopy (23% vs. 4%). Factors affecting the shortening of progression-free survival (PFS) were an advanced stage of the disease, a histopathological diagnosis, the type of cytoreduction, and the final decision. Significance according to the final decision was revealed for PDS vs. NACT after a laparotomy (p < 0.001) and for PDS vs. NACT after a laparoscopy (p = 0.011). Our study supports the benefits of treating ovarian cancer in an oncology centre with a high patient throughput. Further observations might also answer the question about overall survival (OS).
Keywords: EOC; cytoreduction; disparities in treatment; epithelial ovarian cancer; laparoscopy in oncology.