Hematogenous Splenic Metastases as an Independent Negative Prognosis Factor at the Moment of Primary Cytoreduction in Advanced Stage Epithelial Ovarian Cancer--A Single Center Experience

Abstract

Ovarian cancer represents an aggressive gynecological malignancy with a high capacity for dissemination. Once the tumor cells go beyond the pelvic area, upper abdominal involvement, including hepatic, diaphragmatic or even splenic, is frequently seen. The aim of the present study was to determine the impact on survival of parenchymatous versus peritoneal splenic metastases versus splenic hilum lymph node involvement at the time of primary cytoreduction for advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer. Sixty-six patients with a mean age of 54.12 years (range=25-80 years) were submitted to splenectomy in the context of primary cytoreduction at the Dan Setlacec Center of Gastrointestinal Disease and Liver Transplantation, Fundeni Clinical Institute, between January 2002 and May 2014. Although complete macroscopic resection was attempted in all cases, an R0 resection was achieved only in 57 out of the 66 cases. Histopathological studies confirmed the presence of serous subtype in 61 cases, while in the other five cases, the mucinous subtype was found. When studying the specimens of splenectomy, capsular invasion was found in 35 cases (53%), parenchymatous involvement was present in 19 (28.7%), and hilar involvement was present in 12 (18.1%). The overall morbidity rate was 30%, while the 30-day postoperative mortality rate was 7%. The median overall survival for cases with peritoneal seeding was 58.4 months, while that for patients with parenchymatous involvement was 24.5 months (p=0.0126); patients diagnosed with hilar involvement had a median overall survival of 40.6 months (p=0.362). In conclusion, the presence of parenchymatous splenic metastases at primary cytoreduction for advanced-stage ovarian cancer is associated with significantly poorer survival when compared to hilar or peritoneal seeding.

Keywords: Advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer; overall survival; parenchymatous metastasis; peritoneal; splenic metastasis.