Survival of patients with ovarian cancer in central and northern Denmark, 1998–2009

OBJECTIVE: To examine time trends of survival and mortality of ovarian cancer in the central and northern Denmark regions during the period 1998–2009. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a cohort study including women recorded with a first-time diagnosis of ovarian cancer in the Danish National Registry of Patients (DNRP) between 1998 and 2009. Patients were followed for survival through the Danish Civil Registration System. We determined survival stratified by age, and used Cox proportional hazard regression analyses to obtain mortality rate ratios (MRRs) to assess changes over time. RESULTS: We found no improvement in overall ovarian cancer survival between 1998 and 2009. One-year survival was 71% in 1998–2000 and 68% in 2007–2009. Three-year survival declined from 48% in 1998–2000 to 46% in 2007–2009 (predicted), and 5-year survival declined from 40% in 1998–2000 to 37% in 2007–2009 (predicted). Compared with the period 1998–2000, the age-adjusted 1-year MRR was 1.05 (95% confidence interval CI: 0.86–1.28) for the period 2007–2009, and the predicted age-adjusted 3- and 5-year MRRs were 0.96 (95% CI: 0.83–1.12) and 0.99 (95% CI: 0.86–1.14), respectively. Results are not adjusted for tumor stage as this information was not available. We also observed a decline in the annual number of incident ovarian cancer patients during the study period, most pronounced in the youngest age group. CONCLUSION: The survival of ovarian cancer patients did not improve during the study period. This lack of improvement contrasts with the national cancer strategies implemented during this last decade, focusing on improving the survival of ovarian cancer patients.