CT prediction of surgical outcome in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: A scoring system has been proposed to predict gross residual disease at primary debulking surgery (PDS) for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. This scoring system has not been assessed in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). The aim of this study is to assess the reproducibility and prognostic significance of the scoring system when applied to women undergoing NACT followed by interval debulking surgery (IDS). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of patients with advanced ovarian cancer who underwent NACT and IDS between 2005 and 2014. Change in tumor burden using computed tomography (CT) at diagnosis (T0) and after initiation of NACT but before IDS (T1) was independently assessed by two radiologists blinded to outcomes using two read criteria: a scoring system utilizing clinical and radiologic criteria and RECIST 1.1. Relationship between CT assessments to surgical outcome, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. Reader agreement was measured using Fleiss's kappa (ĸ). RESULTS: 76 patients were analyzed. Optimal surgical outcome was achieved in 69 (91%) of patients. Median progression free survival was 13.2 months and overall survival was 32.6 months, respectively. Predictive score change from T0 to T1 of >1 (denoting an improvement in disease burden) was associated with optimal cytoreduction (p = 0.02 and 0.01 for readers 1 and 2, respectively). Neither predictive score nor RECIST 1.1 assessment was predictive of OS or PFS. Reader agreement was substantial for predictive score (κ = 0.77) and moderate for RECIST (κ = 0.51) assessments. CONCLUSIONS: A change in score before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy minimizes reader variability and predicts surgical outcome.

Factors associated with delivery of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in women with advanced stage ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE: To identify clinical and non-clinical factors associated with utilization of primary cytoreductive surgery (PCS) or neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in women with advanced stage epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: Using the National Cancer Database, we identified women with stage IIIC and IV EOC diagnosed from 2012 to 2014. The primary outcome was receipt of NACT, defined in the primary analysis as utilization of chemotherapy as the first cancer-directed therapy, irrespective of whether interval surgery was performed. Univariable and multivariable associations between clinical and non-clinical factors and receipt of NACT were investigated using mixed-effect logistic regression models. A secondary analysis excluded women who received primary chemotherapy but did not receive interval cytoreductive surgery. RESULTS: Among 17,302 eligible women, 10,948 (63.3%) underwent PCS and 6354 (36.7%) received NACT. Older age, stage IV disease, high-grade, and serous histology were associated with receipt of NACT in univariate (p<0.001) and multivariable analyses (p<0.001). Analysis of non-clinical factors revealed that residency in the Northeast region and receipt of treatment closer to home were associated with NACT in univariate (p<0.05) but not multivariable analysis (p>0.05). In multivariable analysis, African-American race/ethnicity (p=0.04), low-income level (p=0.02), treatment in high-volume centers (p<0.01), and insurance by Medicare or other government insurance (p<0.001) were associated with receipt of NACT. When women who received no surgery were excluded, all factors that were independent predictors of NACT in the main analysis remained significant, except for race/ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Non-clinical factors were associated with the use of NACT at a magnitude similar to that of clinically relevant factors.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in elderly women with ovarian cancer: Rates of use and effectiveness.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) may reduce perioperative morbidity in women undergoing primary treatment for ovarian cancer. We evaluated patterns of use and outcomes in a population-based cohort of elderly women with ovarian cancer (OC). METHODS: A cohort of patients ≥66 years old diagnosed between 2000 and 2013 with stage III-IV epithelial OC who received surgery and platinum/taxane chemotherapy for primary treatment was identified from the SEER-Medicare database. Propensity-score matching methods were used to examine differences in outcomes. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to compare overall survival (OS) in the matched cohort. RESULTS: From 2000 to 2013, 22.5% of older women received NACT. The use of NACT increased over time from 16% in 2000 to 35.4% in 2013 (p < .0001). Among women who received PCS, the rate of ostomy creation was higher compared with NACT (23.3% vs. 10.8%, p < .0001). Infectious and other surgical complications were higher among those who had PCS, regardless of stage. Median OS of women III ovarian cancer who underwent PCS was longer compared with NACT (38.8 vs. 28 months, p ≤ .0001). There were no survival differences between NACT and PCS in women with stage IV disease (29.4 vs. 29.8 months, p = .61) or for women aged >80. CONCLUSION: Careful consideration should be given to older patients prior to undergoing PCS. Survival outcomes were similar for patients with stage IV disease, although NACT was associated with decreased perioperative morbidity compared with PCS. Among women with stage III disease, PCS was associated with improved overall survival, but higher rates of perioperative morbidity and acute care.

Disparities in receipt of care for high-grade endometrial cancer: A National Cancer Data Base analysis.

PURPOSE: To examine patterns of care and survival for Hispanic women compared to white and African American women with high-grade endometrial cancer. METHODS: We utilized the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) to identify women diagnosed with uterine grade 3 endometrioid adenocarcinoma, carcinosarcoma, clear cell carcinoma and papillary serous carcinoma between 2003 and 2011. The effect of treatment on survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Factors predictive of outcome were compared using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: 43,950 women were eligible. African American and Hispanic women had higher rates of stage III and IV disease compared to white women (36.5% vs. 36% vs. 33.5%, p<0.001). African American women were less likely to undergo surgical treatment for their cancer (85.2% vs. 89.8% vs. 87.5%, p<0.001) and were more likely to receive chemotherapy (36.8% vs. 32.4% vs. 32%, p<0.001) compared to white and Hispanic women. Over the entire study period, after adjusting for age, time period of diagnosis, region of the country, urban or rural setting, treating facility type, socioeconomic status, education, insurance, comorbidity index, pathologic stage, histology, lymphadenectomy and adjuvant treatment, African American women had lower overall survival compared to white women (Hazard Ratio 1.21, 95% CI 1.16-1.26). Conversely, Hispanic women had improved overall survival compared to white women after controlling for the aforementioned factors (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.80-0.93). CONCLUSIONS: Among women with high-grade endometrial cancer, African American women have lower all-cause survival while Hispanic women have higher all-cause survival compared to white women after controlling for treatment, sociodemographic, comorbidity and histopathologic variables.

Surgical Apgar Score and prediction of morbidity in women undergoing hysterectomy for malignancy.

OBJECTIVE: To validate whether Surgical Apgar Score can predict post-operative morbidity in patients undergoing hysterectomies for malignancies. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of consecutive hysterectomies performed for cancer at a single academic institution between 2008 and 2010. The Surgical Apgar Score (SAS) was derived as previously reported. Peri-operative complications were as outlined by the American Board for Obstetrics and Gynecology, and then further subdivided into intra-operative and post-operative events. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were utilized. RESULTS: A total of 632 patients were identified. Of our cohort, 64% underwent surgery for cancer arising in the uterus, followed by ovary at 28.6% and cervix at 4%. Median patient age was 60 years old with a mean American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System (ASA) score of 2.5 and a median body mass index of 29. Average Surgical Apgar Score was 7.6. As SAS decreased, the risk of peri-operative complications increased (p<0.01). On univariate analysis SAS could predict for both intra-operative and post-operative complications. However, on multivariate analyses SAS could not independently predict for any post-operative complications (OR 1.02, CI 0.47-2.17). In a multivariable model incorporating age, ASA class, SAS <4, disease site, bowel resection and laparotomy, only ASA class and laparotomy were able to predict for postoperative complication events. CONCLUSIONS: Low Surgical Apgar Score significantly associates with morbidity in women undergoing hysterectomy for malignancy, but is unable to predict which patients will have postoperative complications. This renders the SAS less helpful for the creation of peri-operative metrics to guide post-operative care.