Effects of chemotherapy on ovarian cancer

European scholars have conducted relevant clinical research on the long-term efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy on the recurrence-free survival rate and overall survival rate of early ovarian cancer. The study included 477 cases of early epithelial ovarian cancer and followed up for 10 years. The results showed that the overall survival rate of ovarian cancer patients who received early chemotherapy improved by 9%, and the recurrence-free survival rate improved by 10%. In particular, the overall survival rate of high-risk patients improved by 17%, and the recurrence-free survival rate improved by 22%. However, it does not rule out that adjuvant chemotherapy has a small benefit for medium- and low-risk patients.

It is currently believed that patients with stage IA and IB tumors that have been fully staged and confirmed by histopathology and are well differentiated do not need chemotherapy; patients with moderate differentiation can be observed or undergo chemotherapy according to the patient's wishes. In addition, all patients with stage IC, poor differentiation, and histopathological types with poor prognosis such as clear cell carcinoma and carcinosarcoma should undergo chemotherapy for 3 to 6 courses.

Another clinical trial specifically compared the efficacy and toxic side effects of 3 courses and 6 courses of chemotherapy. A total of 457 patients with early ovarian cancer were included in the study, of which 427 (93%) met the trial criteria, 69% of the patients were in stage I, and the median follow-up time was 6.8 years. The 6-course group had more severe toxic side effects, and the recurrence rate was reduced by 24%. Compared with the 3-course group, the estimated 5-year recurrence rate was 20.1% (6 courses) vs 25.4% (3 courses), but there was no difference in the overall mortality rate. Further stratified analysis showed that 6 courses of treatment can prolong the survival of high-risk early ovarian cancer. Therefore, it is generally believed that, except for intermediate-risk patients, 6 courses of treatment are better, and the chemotherapy regimen is the same as that for advanced ovarian cancer.