The effect of symptom duration in epithelial ovarian cancer on prognostic factors

Abstract

Purpose

To assess the association between duration of symptoms and main prognostic factors of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Methods

The data of all histologically confirmed EOC patients diagnosed in Israel during the period 1994–1999 (n = 1,005) were retrieved from discharge summaries and admission records. Of the 371 (36.9%) patients with known presenting symptoms, the durations of 187 (50.4%) were recorded.

Results

The most common presenting symptoms were abdominal pain (65.2%). The percentage of patients with three or more symptoms increased significantly with stage (P = 0.001). No statistically significant association between duration of symptoms and prognostic factors was found.

Conclusion

Our findings did not show an association between duration of symptoms and prognostic factors in EOC patients and may indicate that prognosis is not a function of delay in diagnosis.

Appendix

The members of the National Israel Ovarian Cancer Group are as follows:

Shmuel Anderman, MD, Marco Alteras, MD, Shaul Anteby, MD, Jack Atad, MD, Amiram Avni, MD, Amiram Bar-Am, MD, Dan Beck, MD, Uzi Beller, MD, Gilad Ben-Baruch, MD, Yehuda Ben-David, MD, Izhar Ben-Shlomo, MD, Haim Biran, MD, Moshe Ben Ami, MD, Angela Chetrit, BSc, Shlomit Cohen, MD, Shulamit Cohen, MD, Ram Dgani, MD, Yehudit Fishler, MD, Ami Fishman, MD, Eitan Friedman, MD, Ofer Gemer, MD, Ruth Gershoni, MD, Reuvit Halperin, MD, Galit Hirsh-Yechezkel, MD, David Idelman, MD, Rafael Katan, MD, Yuri Kopilovic, MD, Efrat Lahad, MD, Liat Lerner-Geva, MD, Hanoch Levavi, MD, Tally Levi, MD Albert Levit, MD, Beatriz Lifschitz-Mercer, MD, Flora Lubin, MSc R.D., Zohar Leviatan, MD, Jacob Marcovich, MD, Joseph Menczer, MD, Baruch Modan, MD (Chairman, diseased), Hedva Nitzan, RN, MPH, Moshe Oetinger, MD, Tamar Perez, MD, Benjamin Piura, MD, David Schneider, MD, Mariana Shteiner, MD, Zion Tal, MD, Chaim Yaffe, MD, Ilana Yanai, MD, Shifra Zohar, RN, BA.