Objective:

To compare survival of patients with stage III-IV ovarian epithelial cancer treated with primary debulking surgery with those treated with interval debulking surgery.

Methods:

Observational, retrospective, cohort study, which included 83 patients with ovarian epithelial cancer diagnosed and treated between 2012 - 2022, in the gynecology oncology consultation of the National Specialized Hospital of the Hospital Oncology Service of the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security, in two cohorts: 54 patients treated with primary debulking surgery and 29 patients with interval debulking surgery. A review of medical records was carried out. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and application of survival models (Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression).

Results:

73.5 % of the patients were in the 40 - 59 years old group. The most common histotype was high-grade papillary serous with 77.1%. Optimal debulking occurred in 79.6% of cases with primary debulking surgery and in 86.2% with interval debulking surgery. Progression-free survival in primary debulking surgery had a mean of 100.7 months with a probability of 88.6% at 5 years, and interval debulking surgery had a mean of 69.8 months with a probability of 52.9% (p = 0.139). The mean 5-year overall survival with primary debulking surgery was 85.6% and with interval debulking surgery was 70.1% (p = 0.095).

Conclusion:

Both treatments are comparable and effective, but more studies are needed to reach statistical significance between the groups.