Objective Primary cytoreduction for ovarian cancer often requires extended radical procedures and is associated with significant morbidity. In 2010, neoadjuvant chemotherapy was shown to have similar survival to primary cytoreduction but with less need for radical surgery. We hypothesized that the increased use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy would decrease the use of radical cytoreductive procedures and thus examined trends in the performance of radical cytoreductive procedures.

Methods We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample to determine the annual number of extended procedures (colon, small intestine, liver, diaphragm, spleen, and gastric resection, ileostomy, colostomy) performed in women undergoing surgery for ovarian cancer from 1998 to 2013. Estimates were weighted to provide national averages. To account for changes in incidence over time, we used national incidence rates and report procedures performed per 1000 new cases of ovarian cancer. Trends were assessed using Cochrane-Armitage tests.

Results We identified 274,639 ovarian cancer patients who underwent surgery, ranging from 15,720 to 18,714 procedures performed each year. We identified a significant increase in the use of extended procedures over this period. These differences were significant for absolute numbers of procedures, rate per 1000 new ovarian cancer cases, and percent per hysterectomy/bilateral salpingoophorectomy for rectosigmoid resection, diaphragm resection, splenectomy, ileostomy, and liver resection. Specifically, the use of these procedures rose from 1998 to 2010, declined in 2011, and rose again in 2012 and 2013.

Conclusions Although there was a transient decrease in the use of extended cytoreductive procedures from 2010 to 2011 after the publication of randomized neoadjuvant trial data, use of these procedures again rose in 2012 and 2013.