Aggressive surgery for advanced ovarian cancer performed by a multidisciplinary team: A retrospective analysis on a large series of patients

To evaluate the impact of extended surgical treatment performed by a team of gynecologists andgeneral surgeons on postoperative morbidity and survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer.Methods:We collected data of 156 patients with advanced ovarian cancer stage IIb-III-IV according to Interna-tional Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics classification and treated with primary cytoreduction. End pointswere perioperative and postoperative complications and cancer-related survival.Results:In 51 cases (51/156, 32.7%) a multivisceral resectionwas completed. Postoperative complications occurredin 52 cases (33.3%). The duration of the surgical procedure as well as the need for diaphragmatic peritonectomywere the factors independently associated with the development of postoperative complications. Five-year can-cer-related survival rate was of 50.7%: only histotype and residual tumor resulted significantly associated.Conclusions:Our results highlight the importance of a team of gynecologists and general surgeons with specificin-terests and skills to achieve cytoreduction as rapidly as possible, even when it implies very complex maneuvers.