Impact of the time interval between primary or interval surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients

INTRODUCTION: Primary debulking surgery (PDS), interval debulking surgery (IDS), and platinum-based chemotherapy are the current standard treatments for advanced ovarian cancer (OC). The time to initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy (TTC) could influence patient outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of advanced (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage III or IV) OC treated between 2014 and 2018 to assess progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in relation to TTC. All patients underwent a germline multigene panel for BRCA1/2 evaluation. RESULTS: Among the 83 patients who underwent PDS, a TTC ≥ 60 days was associated with a shorter PFS (hazard ratio (HR) 2.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–3.93, p = 0.038), although this association lost statistical significance when adjusting for residual disease (HR 1.52, 95% CI 0.75–3.06, p = 0.244, for TTC and HR 2.73, 95% CI 1.50–4.96, p = 0.001, for residual disease). Among 52 IDS patients, we found no evidence of an association between TTC and clinical outcomes. Ascites, type of chemotherapy, or germline BRCA1/2 mutational status did not influence TTC and were not associated with clinical outcomes in PDS or IDS patients. DISCUSSION: In conclusion, longer TTC seems to negatively affect prognosis in patients undergoing PDS, especially those with residual disease.