Objective: To assess postoperative complications after secondary cytoreductive surgery (SCS) with or without hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), we conducted an exploratory analysis of patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer enrolled in a randomized phase II trial.
Methods: Complications occurring within 30 days of surgery were graded using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5.0; only hemoglobin and platelet levels were assessed. Patients were grouped by CTCAE grade ≥ 3 and < 3 complications.
Results: Among 83 eligible patients, 33 (40%) had grade ≥ 3 complications and 50 (60%) had grade < 3 complications; anemia and abdominal infections were the most common. There were no perioperative mortalities. Time to initiation of postoperative chemotherapy for patients with grade ≥ 3 and grade < 3 events was 34 days (range, 18-60) and 31 days (range, 21-43), respectively (P = .017). Median progression-free survival (PFS) did not significantly differ between patients with grade ≥ 3 and grade < 3 complications (11.2 months [95% CI: 9.3-14.4] vs 14.9 months [95% CI: 11.3-16.5], respectively; P = .186), nor did median overall survival (OS) (46.9 months [95% CI: 34-NE] vs 68.2 months [95% CI: 52.1-NE], respectively; P = .053).
Conclusion: Postoperative complications following SCS with or without HIPEC were associated with slight delays in chemotherapy initiation but did not significantly impact oncologic outcomes.
Keywords: Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy; Morbidity; Postoperative complications; Recurrent ovarian cancer; Secondary cytoreductive surgery; Survival.
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