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Secondary malignancies in long-term ovarian cancer survivors: results of the ‘Carolin meets HANNA’ study
  1. Hannah Woopen1,
  2. Carolin Rolf1,
  3. Elena Ioana Braicu1,
  4. Nina Buttmann-Schweiger2,
  5. Benjamin Barnes2,
  6. Joanna Baum1,
  7. Klaus Pietzner1,
  8. Klaus Kraywinkel2 and
  9. Jalid Sehouli1
  1. 1 Department of Gynecology with Center for Oncological Surgery, Campus Virchow Klinikum, Charite–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
  2. 2 Centre for Cancer Registry Data, Robert Koch Institut, Berlin, Germany
  1. Correspondence to Professor Jalid Sehouli, Department of Gynecology with Center for Oncological Surgery, Campus Virchow Klinikum, Charite –Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany; jalid.sehouli{at}charite.de

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the rate of secondary malignancies in long-term survivors with ovarian cancer.

Methods Long-term survivors with ovarian cancer (survival ≥8 years after initial diagnosis) with multiple malignancies were identified within the Tumorbank Ovarian Cancer and our study ‘Carolin meets HANNA – Holistic Analyses of Long-term Survivors with Ovarian Cancer’.

Results Of a total of 225 long-term survivors with ovarian cancer, 36 patients (16%) had at least one more cancer diagnosis before, concomitant with, or after, ovarian cancer. Median age was 52.5 years (range 37–79). A total of 60% were diagnosed with stage III/IV and most tumors were high-grade (88.6%), as well as of serous histology (63.9%). Median overall survival was 10 years (range 8–19). Secondary cancer after ovarian cancer was found in 17 long-term survivors (7.6%). Breast cancer was the most frequent secondary malignancy. Median duration between diagnosis of primary ovarian cancer and secondary cancer diagnosis was 78.5 months (range 12–220). BRCA was tested in 11 patients with seven patients being BRCA1 and one patient BRCA2 positive. Secondary cancers were detected by screening in 35.3% and self-detected in 29.4% of patients (breast self-examination).

Conclusion A secondary malignancy was diagnosed in 7.6% of long-term survivors. Routine follow-up and cancer screening should be performed in long-term ovarian cancer survivors.

  • ovarian cancer
  • postoperative care
  • quality of life (PRO)/palliative care
  • neoplasms
  • second primary

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request from HW (hannah.woopen@charite.de).

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Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request from HW (hannah.woopen@charite.de).

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Footnotes

  • Contributors All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by CR, HW, and EIB. The first draft of the manuscript was written by HW and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

  • Funding Financial support was given by the grant DynAge (“Disease in Human Aging – Dynamics at the Level of Molecules, Individuals, and Society”) by the Freie Universität Berlin.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.