Effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients with different germline BRCA1/2 mutational status: A retrospective study
Abstract Background Whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by interval debulking surgery (IDS) against primary debulking surgery (PDS) has a differential effect on prognosis due to Breast Cancer Susceptibility Genes (BRCA)1/2 mutations has not been confirmed by current studies. Methods All patients included in this retrospective study were admitted to Qilu Hospital of Shandong University between January 2009 and June 2020, and germline BRCA1/2 mutation were tested. Patients in stage IIIB, IIIC, and IV, re-staged by International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2014, were selected for analysis. All patients with NAC received 1–3 cycles of platinum-containing (carboplatin, cisplatin, or nedaplatin) chemotherapy. Patients who received maintenance therapy after chemotherapy were not eligible for this study. All relevant medical records were collected. Results A total of 308 patients were enrolled in the study, including 108 patients with BRCA1/2 mutations (BRCAmut), and 200 patients with BRCA1/2 wild-type (BRCAwt). In the two groups, 36 BRCAmut patients (33.3%) and 59 BRCAwt patients (29.5%) received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The progression-free survival (PFS) of BRCAmut patients was significantly reduced after NAC (median: 15.0 vs. 19.0 months, HR = 0.59; p = 0.03); however, there was no statistical difference in overall survival (OS) (median: 75.1 vs. 68.5 months, HR = 0.90; p = 0.72). Whether BRCAwt patients received NAC had no significant effect on PFS (median: 13.5 vs. 14.6 months, HR = 1.02; p = 0.90) or OS (median: 54.0 vs. 56.4 months, HR = 1.23; p = 0.34). Multivariate analyses showed that the independent predictors of prolonged survival were PDS (p = 0.003), the absence of residual tumor after surgery (p = 0.010), and FIGO III stage (p = 0.011). Conclusions For advanced-stage ovarian cancer patients treated with NAC followed by IDS, PFS and OS were not significantly affected in BRCAwt patients. In BRCAmut patients, NAC-IDS resulted in a shortened PFS, but had no further effect on overall survival.