Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube – a retrospective analysis of 115 patients

Abstract

Incidence and prognostic factors of primary carcinoma of the Fallopian tube were studied in a retrospective multi-centre analysis of 115 women during the period 1980 to 1990. Data of 28 departments (university as well as general hospitals) were included in the present study which was designed to evaluate the current diagnosis and treatment of carcinoma of the Fallopian tube in Austria, and to compare the results with those from the literature. Stages were classified according to the modified FIGO-system for ovarian cancer; grading followed the criteria of Hu et al. (1950). The mean age of the patients was 62.5 years. Forty-seven (40.9%) tumours were found to be in stage I, 20 (17.4%) in stage II, 34 (29.6%) in stage III, and 14 (12.1%) in stage IV. In 82 patients, the tumour could be completely removed. The surgical method applied in 95 cases was removal of the uterus, the adnexa, and/or the omentum, or lymph nodes. Postoperatively patients underwent adjuvant therapy which was either irradiation (n = 40; 34.8%), or chemotherapy (n = 49; 42.6%); 26 women (22.6%) had no therapy after operation. The 5-year survival rate for all stages was 36.5%. In stages I and II the 5-year survival was 50.8% compared to 13.6% in stages III and IV. FIGO-stage I and II and a residual tumour less than 2 cm in advanced disease had a prognostically favourable impact, which was proven in univariate as well as multivariate analysis.