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Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma: a Retrospective Study from a Tertiary Cancer Institute

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinico-pathological behaviour and treatment patterns of low-grade serous carcinomas (LGSC) of ovary treated at a regional cancer centre. A retrospective analysis was done for the histopathology-proven cases of low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, treated at a tertiary cancer institute between January, 2010, and September, 2019. There were 28 patients identified from the medical records with low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma. Median age of the patients was 43 years [22–79 years]. Average BMI was 22.3 ± 4.0 kg/m2 [range 15.2–31.2]. Twenty-one (75%) were parous and 7 (25%) were non-parous women. Median CA125 level was 188 IU/ml [range 6–14,187 IU/ml]. Ten (35.7%) patients had primary surgery elsewhere and 8 (80%) out of these patients had to undergo repeat staging. Fertility sparing surgery (FSS) was offered to 4 (14.3%) patients. Five (17.8%) patients had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced disease and poor performance status. Almost 82.2% (23) of the patients had no macroscopic residual disease at the primary surgery. According to International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists (FIGO) stage for ovarian carcinoma, there were 7 (25%), 6 (21.4%), 13 (46.4%), and 2 (7.1%) patients in the stages I, II, III, and IV respectively. Post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy was offered to 7 (25%), hormonal therapy (anastrozole/tamoxifen) to 7 (25%), and rest of 14 (50%) patients were under surveillance. Median follow-up time for the study group was 36 months. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) at 2 years was 96.4% and 89.1%, respectively. Low-grade serous carcinomas of ovary differ biologically from high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma. Surgery is the cornerstone of the treatment. Further research is needed to understand the behaviour of these tumours for effective treatment strategies in future.

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Dr. Rajasekhar and Dr. Sravanthi. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Dr. Sravanthi and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Rajshekhar S. Kundargi.

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Nuthalapati, S., Kundargi, R.S., Reddihalli, P.V. et al. Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma: a Retrospective Study from a Tertiary Cancer Institute. Indian J Surg Oncol 13, 707–715 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13193-022-01543-5

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