Real-life data on clinical characteristics, treatments and outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed advanced-stage ovarian cancer: an observational study from Belgium.

[OBJECTIVES] Data about the clinical management of patients with ovarian cancer (OC) in real-world settings are scarce. This study documents baseline characteristics, treatments, and clinical outcomes in a real-world population of women with newly diagnosed advanced-stage OC in Belgium.

[METHODS] This observational study, conducted at four hospitals in Belgium, retrospectively enrolled 120 women with FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics classification) stage III or IV high-grade serous or endometrioid OC diagnosed between 2007 and 2018. Treatment outcomes, response to therapy, and patient survival were followed up until 20 months after diagnosis.

[RESULTS] Of 113 patients with a clinical response assessment, 49.6% were diagnosed with a stage IV disease, 53.1% underwent interval debulking surgery, 98.2% received any type of chemotherapy, and 35.4% received bevacizumab. Deleterious mutations in breast cancer susceptibility genes were detected in 12/84 (14.3%) patients. After primary or interval debulking surgery, 50.0% and 60.0% of stage III, and 66.7% and 80.0% of stage IV patients had no visible residual disease, respectively. Following chemotherapy, 59.3% of patients had complete clinical response and/or no visible residual disease. Until month 20 of follow-up, 37.2% of patients were disease-free.

[CONCLUSION] Until 2018, surgical resection followed by first-line chemotherapy and bevacizumab use comprised the cornerstone therapy for newly diagnosed FIGO stage IV OC in Belgium. Clinical response and progression-free survival rates were relatively high. The patients' status was insufficiently characterized, likely reflecting the lack of perceived relevance of mutations for OC treatment before adoption of targeted therapies in clinical practice.