Background: Ovarian carcinoma is the most deadly of gynecologic malignancies. Controversy exists as to whether different histologic types have a different prognosis. The goal of this study was to determine whether patients with endometrioid carcinoma of the ovary have a different prognosis than patients with serous carcinoma.
Methods: Available records for all patients on the gynecologic oncology service with epithelial ovarian carcinoma from January 1, 1981 through December 31, 1989, were reviewed. Patients with endometrioid ovarian carcinomas were matched with patients with serous carcinoma with regards to age, grade, stage, and level of cytoreduction.
Results: Forty-two patients were studied by matching 21 patients with endometrioid carcinoma with 21 patients with serous carcinoma. The 5-year survival of the 21 patients with endometrioid carcinoma was 61.9% while the 5-year survival was 71.4% in the patients with serous carcinoma (P=0.22). Of the patients diagnosed with endometrioid carcinoma, the mean survival was 57 months versus a mean survival of 69 months in patients with serous carcinoma (P=0.30). Estrogen receptor levels were not statistically significantly different between the two groups (P=0.108); however, progesterone receptor levels did prove to be statistically significantly different (P<0.001).
Conclusions: When patients with endometrioid and serous tumours of the ovary are matched for age, grade, stage and level of cytoreduction, there is no difference in either 5-year survival or length of survival.