Background and objectives: Primary fallopian tube cancer (PFTC) shares the same diagnostic and management guidelines with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The LION trail raised concerns regarding the role of systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy during debulking surgery. We aimed to evaluate the significance of lymphadenectomy in PFTC survival.
Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the clinical features and survival of patients with PFTC who underwent primary surgery in our center between January 2013 and October 2020.
Results: Sixty-one patients diagnosed with PFTC were included in the study. Twenty-five (41.0%, 25/61) were diagnosed with FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) stages I/II and 36 (59.0%, 36/61) were diagnosed with stage III/IV. Twenty-nine (47.5%, 29/61) underwent pelvic lymphadenectomy with or without para-aortic lymphadenectomy, among which 12 (41.4%, 12/29) had lymph node metastasis confirmed by postoperative pathology. The mean progression-free survival was 60.4 months in the lymphadenectomy group and 37.8 months in the no-lymphadenectomy group (p = 0.042, HR 0.374, 95% CI 0.145-0.966).
Conclusions: PFTC is often diagnosed earlier and has a better prognosis than EOC. Most patients with PFTC would benefit from lymphadenectomy. However, the extent to which this association translates to a more diverse population needs to be further identified.
Keywords: Gynecology; fallopian tube cancer; lymphadenectomy; prognosis; surgery.