Surgical staging in patients with ovarian tumors of low malignant potential.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcomes of patients with ovarian tumors of low malignant potential who had complete surgical staging with those who were unstaged to determine whether the rate of recurrence or survival was affected by surgical staging.

METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on 93 consecutive patients who had surgery for histologically confirmed tumors of low malignant potential between 1979 and 1997. Two cohorts of patients were identified: patients who had classic surgical staging (n = 48) versus those who were not staged (n = 45). Outcome data were recorded for patients and compared between the two groups.

RESULTS: Early stage (I or II) disease was diagnosed in 31 of 48 patients who had surgical staging and 42 of 45 patients who were not staged (P =.001). In 17% of patients their stage was upgraded on the basis of surgical staging, as a result of retroperitoneal involvement in only 6% of those cases (three of 48 staged patients). During the study interval, the frozen section diagnosis of low malignant potential tumor of the ovary was changed to a final diagnosis of invasive cancer in eight other patients. There were three recurrences and two deaths in both the staged and unstaged low malignant potential groups. The average duration of follow-up was 6.5 +/- 4.2 years and was similar in the two groups. Overall 5-year survival was approximately 93% for all stages.

CONCLUSION: Survival and recurrence rates were not significantly different between staged and unstaged patients who had surgery for low malignant potential tumors of the ovary.