The multi-center study led by Joan Walker, MD of the University of Oklahoma involved 1,560 participants with advanced ovarian cancer (stage II or higher) at 18 medical centers around the country. The study was published in the April 19, 2019 Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Patients were randomly assigned to three different chemotherapy regimens delivered either through an IV (intravenously) or through an abdominal port (intraperitoneal port) following surgery and were followed for an average of 7 years.
While there was no significant different in the amount of time the cancer was halted (progression free survival) for those treated with the abdominal port versus the IV route, the amount of residual cancer after surgery made a significant difference in overall survival.
Those with less than 1 cm of cancer remaining after surgery survived a median of 75.5, 78.9, and 72.9 months for the three chemotherapy regimens. Those with no remaining cancer after surgery had a median overall survival of 98.4 month, 104.8 months for two of the combination chemotherapy regimens and had not been reached for the third at the time of publication.
The researchers concluded that there was no significant advantage to delivering the chemotherapy through an abdominal port compared to IV infusion, but that early diagnosis is key to more successful surgery.
Dr. Walker said in a press release that women with a family history of breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers should see a genetic counselor and discuss testing for known cancer-causing genes.
Sources: EurekAlert press release and Journal of Clinical Oncology
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