MULTIVARIATE-ANALYSIS OF DNA-PLOIDY, STEROID-HORMONE RECEPTORS, AND CA-125 AS PROGNOSTIC FACTORS IN OVARIAN-CARCINOMA - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY

The prognosis in ovarian cancer patients remains poor, and there is a need to identify patients who are less likely to respond to treatment. In a prospective study of patients with ovarian carcinoma treated by a standard protocol, variables such as age, tumor type, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, histologic grade, resul ts from flow cytometry, receptors for estrogen (ER) and progesterone ( PR), and serum CA 125 were correlated to relapse and survival. Univari ate analysis revealed that stage, histologic grade, DNA ploidy, ER, PR , and CA 125 were of significant association to survival, but only sta ge, DNA ploidy, PR, and CA 125 were found to be of significant value t o relapse. Multivariate analysis identified DNA ploidy as an independe nt prognostic variable for both relapse and survival.