Recurrent vulvar squamous cell carcinoma: An analysis of clinical outcomes by treatment modality including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Abstract

e18033 Background: Recurrent VSCC carries a poor prognosis, but real-world data on outcomes with standard treatment options are lacking. Specifically, progression free survival (PFS) in recurrent VSCC is ill-defined which is problematic for the design of clinical trials with novel therapies. We aim to address the paucity of outcome data in recurrent VSCC and to compare PFS and overall survival (OS) in patients (pts) undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or a combination of these treatments. Methods: A retrospective chart review identified 246 pts from 2000-2018 diagnosed with VSCC treated at the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Center and 61 pts with recurrent disease. Data collected included patient demographics, tumour characteristics, recurrence pattern, and treatment modality (surgery only, surgery with chemotherapy, surgery with radiation, surgery with chemoradiation, chemoradiation only, chemotherapy only, or radiation only). Descriptive statistical analysis is reported. Results: Among all study pts, the stage distribution was stage I: 28%, II: 19%, III: 43% and IV: 10%. 61% of pts had one recurrence, 36% had two recurrences, and 3% had three recurrences. The 5-year survival rate was 78% for non-recurrent VSCC vs. 33% for recurrent cases. The median OS for all recurrent and non-recurrent cases was 3.7 years and 13.5 years, respectively. For primary treatment, 87% underwent surgical treatment, of which 60% also had radiation or chemoradiation. The most common treatments for first recurrence were: surgery (25%), radiation (20%), no treatment (16%) and chemotherapy (14%), and for second recurrence: no treatment (50%), radiation (25%), surgery (17%) and chemotherapy (8%). The median PFS after primary treatment and after first and second recurrences were 8.7, 5.3 and 1.4 months (mo), respectively, with no significant difference between treatment regimens. However, when grouped (surgery with or without chemotherapy, radiation or chemoradiation vs. non-surgical management), there was a significant PFS benefit for surgical (15.6 mo) over non-surgical management (0.7 mo) in the treatment of a second recurrence (p = 0.05). Conclusions: At our centre, surgery and radiation have been the mainstay of treatment for recurrent VSCC with particular advantage of surgery in the treatment of a second recurrence. Our study establishes a baseline for VSCC outcomes following standard treatment. Accurate PFS data is an important outcome for the design of future studies in recurrent VSCC with new drug therapies.