OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical features of epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) in younger vs. older patients in Japan. METHODS: We collected data on 1,562 patients with EOC treated at multiple institutions in the Tokai Ovarian Tumor Study Group, and analyzed them retrospectively. All patients were divided into 2 groups: group A (< or =40 years old) and group B (>40 years old). The data were analyzed to evaluate prognostic factors and the distribution of features in each group. Patients were subjected to univariate and multivariate analyses to evaluate overall survival (OS). RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 45.1 months (range, 1 to 257 months). Patients in group A had a significantly higher rate of stage I disease (67.3% vs. 42.6%, respectively; p<0.001) and the mucinous type (36.7% vs. 13.5%, respectively; p<0.001) than those in group B. There was a significant difference of OS between the 2 groups (p=0.013). However, upon stratification according to the stage, there were no significant differences in the OS between the 2 groups (group A vs. B: stage I, p=0.533; stage II-IV, p=0.407). Multivariate analysis revealed that younger age was not an independent prognostic factor for OS. CONCLUSION: On the basis of our data, younger patients had a different clinical profile than older patients, particularly regarding the stage of the disease and pathological distribution; however, they showed a similar long-term prognosis, even upon stratification according to the stage.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Japan ; Mucins ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to examine the effects of front-line chemotherapy on overall survival (OS) and postrecurrence survival (PRS) of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer, when stratifying the histologic type. METHODS: Five hundred and seventy-four patients with recurrent ovarian cancer with sufficient clinical information, including front-line chemotherapy, were analyzed. The pathologic slides were evaluated by central pathologic review. The patients were divided into two groups: group A (n=261), who underwent taxane plus platinum, and group B (n=313), who underwent conventional platinum-based chemotherapy without taxanes. RESULTS: The median age was 54 years (range, 14 to 89 years). Group A had significantly better median OS (45.0 months vs. 30.3 months, p<0.001) and PRS (23.0 months vs. 13.0 months, p<0.001) compared to group B. The OS and PRS were similar between the groups in patients with clear cell or mucinous histology. In contrast, among patients with non-clear cell, non-mucinous histologies, the OS and PRS of group A were significantly better than those of group B (OS, p<0.001; PRS, p<0.001). Multivariable analyses revealed that, among patients with non-clear cell, non-mucinous histologies, chemotherapy including taxane and platinum was an independent predictor of favorable survival outcomes. Conversely, in patients with clear cell or mucinous histology, taxane-including platinum-based combination chemotherapy did not improve the OS and PRS compared to a conventional platinum-based regimen which did not include taxanes. CONCLUSION: Since the emergence of taxane plus platinum, the prognosis of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer has improved. However, we here demonstrate that this improvement is limited to patients with non-clear cell, non-mucinous histologies.
Drug Therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Humans ; Mucins ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Platinum* ; Prognosis ; Taxoids