The aim of the present study was to identify clinicopathological factors in long-term survivors following ovarian cancer recurrence. The patients who achieved longer survival after recurrence (n=18) and those who succumbed to the disease earlier (n=47) were identified and analyzed. There were no significant differences in age, performance status, stage distribution or histology between the two groups. Additionally, no significant difference was observed in progression-free survival after primary therapy. Multivariate analyses revealed that the predictive factors for long-term survival were i) secondary debulking surgery (OR=13.3; 95% CI: 1.39-226.7), ii) favourable response rate of second-line chemotherapy (OR=46.5; 95% CI: 1.84-313-4), and iii) ≥3 regimens after first recurrence (OR=9.01; 95% CI: 1.28-117.7). This study revealed that prolonged post-progression survival was associated with post-recurrence treatment. Therefore, appropriate selection of secondary debulking surgery and better chemotherapeutic response may lead to prolonged post-progression survival in recurrent ovarian cancer patients.
Keywords: chemotherapy; ovarian cancer; overall survival; post-progression survival; recurrence; secondary debulking surgery.