Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary: A Rare Tumor With a Poor Prognosis

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the demographic and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of women diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the ovary.MethodsThe National Cancer Data Base was accessed, and women diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the ovary, between 2004 and 2014 were identified. Median and 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were calculated following generation of Kaplan-Meir curves and compared with the log-rank test. A Cox multivariate model was constructed to identify variables associated with mortality.ResultsA total 469 women were identified with a median age of 39 years; 81.7% of tumors were unilateral, whereas median size was 13 cm. Only 20.1% of patients had stage I disease. Women who underwent cancer-directed surgery had a 5-year OS rate of 24.1%. Five-year OS rates were 48.6%, 30.7%, 18%, and 12.3% for those with stages I, II, III, and IV disease, respectively, P < 0.001. Younger age (P = 0.013) and the combination of surgery with chemotherapy (CT) (P < 0.001) were associated with superior OS. By multivariate analysis, earlier disease stage and use of CT, but not patient age or performance of lymphadenectomy, were associated with lower mortality.ConclusionsSmall cell carcinomas of the ovary are unilateral tumors primarily arising in premenopausal women. Multimodal treatment with cancer-directed surgery and CT results in a modest increase of a generally poor survival.