Die Bedeutung des Lymphknotenstatus für das Überleben von Patientinnen mit Ovarialkarzinom im klinischen Stadium III

A total of 81 patients with clinical stage III (FIGO IIIb and III c) epithelial ovarian carcinomas were analysed to evaluate the significance of metastatic lymph node involvement for prognosis and survival rates following cytoreductive surgery. Of the patients evaluated, 35 (43%) had negative retroperitoneal nodes. Three of these patients were excluded from the study as a result of an additional tumour or an age beyond 80 years. The remaining 32 patients with negative retroperitoneal nodes (Group 1) were matched with 32 patients with positive nodes corresponding in age, degree of malignancy and residual tumour following lymphonodectomy (Group 2). Median survival times as well as numbers of living patients after 2 and 5 years were compared. The median survival time in Group 1 was 40.5 months and 37.5 months in Group 2. Of the women in Group 1, 21 (66%) still lived after two years, whereas 23 (72 %) Group 2 patients were still alive after two years. Respective values for five year survival were 12 (38%, Group 1) and 10 (31%, Group 2). Kaplan-Meier survival curves of both experimental groups were not statistically different (log-rank test, p = 0,172). The data suggest that the lymph node status in clinical stage III patients has a low prognostic value for survival times following surgery.