Outcomes of women not receiving treatment for advancedovarian cancer in the West of Scotland: a retrospective analysis

Objective: There are very few published reports on the outcomes of women who receive no active treatment for advanced ovarian cancer. The present authors aimed to determine the proportion of women diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer who do not receive active treatment, the factors that guide the decision not to offer treatment, and their survival duration without treatment. Materials and Methods: The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of all women diagnosed with ovarian cancer who were not given active treatment by the West of Scotland Cancer Network (WoSCAN) between 2009 and 2012. Data were collected on patient demographics, referral process and outcome. Results: Ten percent (n=110) of all ovarian cancers received no active treatment, 25.2% of those not treated declined active treatment, 70% presented for the first time as an emergency, and 28% of diagnoses were made on clinical-radiological grounds only. The median survival from diagnosis was 31 days. Conclusion: 10% of patients with ovarian cancer are not given any active treatment. The median survival in this cohort is less than one month.

Ovarian carcinoma; Prognosis; Treatment; Survival; Epidemiology.

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