Lymph node characteristics predict survival in patients with ovarian cancer

A competing risk model that incorporates lymph node parameters has demonstrated its utility and robustness in evaluating the results of the Cox proportional hazards model analysis among older patients with stage III serious ovarian cancer, reports a study.

Using the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results database, a group of researchers retrospectively analysed a total of 148,598 patients from 2010 to 2016. They collected and assessed lymph node characteristics, including the number of lymph nodes retrieved, the number of lymph nodes examined (ELN), and the number of positive lymph nodes (PN).

Finally, competing risk models were used to explore the association of the said variables with overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). A total of 3,457 patients with ovarian cancer met the eligibility criteria.

In multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazard model, ELN >22 independently predicted both OS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.688, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.553‒0.856; p<0.05) and DSS (HR, 0.65, 95 percent CI, 0.512‒0.826; p<0.001), while PN >8 was a significant risk factor for OS (HR, 0.908, 95 percent CI, 0.688‒1.199; p=0.497) and DSS (HR, 0.926, 95 percent CI, 0.684‒1.254; p=0.62).

Notably, the competing risk model showed that ELN >22 was an independent protective factor for DSS (HR, 0.738, 95 percent CI, 0.574‒0.949; p=0.018), while PN >8 was a risk factor for DSS (HR, 0.999, 95 percent CI, 0.731‒1.366; p=1).