Lymph node metastasis in grossly apparent stages I and II epithelial ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Incidence of lymph node metastasis is relatively high even in early-stage epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC). Lymphadenectomy is important in the surgical treatment of EOC; however, the exact role of lymphadenectomy in the management of EOC remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated lymph node metastasis in stages I and II EOC patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy-nine patients with stage I/II EOC underwent initial surgery, and 68 patients received adjuvant platinum and taxane chemotherapy after surgery at Keio University Hospital. The patients were evaluated with respect to age at diagnosis, clinical stage, histology, histological grade, and tumor laterality.

RESULTS: Of the 79 patients, 10 (12.7%) had lymph node metastasis. Of these, 4 (5.1%) had lymph node metastasis in paraaortic lymph node (PAN) only, 1 (1.3%) in pelvic lymph node (PLN) only, and 5 (6.3%) in both PAN and PLN. The incidence of serous-type lymph node metastasis in PAN, PAN + PLN, and total was higher than nonserous type (25% vs 1.5%, P < 0.0001; 25% vs 3.0%, P = 0.001; 50% vs 5.9%, P < 0.0001). However, there was no significant difference between lymph node status and T factor or histological grade. In 78% of patients (7/9), metastases in contralateral lymph nodes were present (contralateral, 2; bilateral, 5). There was no significant difference in progression-free survival between node-positive and node-negative groups (P = 0.47).

CONCLUSIONS: Based on diagnostic value, the result suggests that the role of lymphadenectomy might differ by histological type, as its therapeutic effect might be unclear. A multicenter analysis is essential for confirmation.