Survival outcomes of primary vs interval cytoreductive surgery for International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IV ovarian cancer: a nationwide population-based target trial emulation

Abstract

The effect of primary cytoreductive surgery versus interval cytoreductive surgery on FIGO IV ovarian cancer outcomes remains uncertain, and may vary depending on the stage and the extraperitoneal metastasis location. Emulating target trials through causal assessment combined with propensity score adjustment has become a leading method for evaluating interventions using observational data. To assess the effect of primary versus interval cytoreductive surgery on progression-free and overall survival in patients with FIGO IV ovarian cancer using target trial emulation. Utilizing the comprehensive French national health insurance database, we emulated a target trial to explore primary versus interval cytoreductive surgery causal impacts on FIGO IV ovarian cancer prognosis (Surgery for Ovarian cancer FIGO 4: SOFI-4). The clone method with inverse probability of censoring weighting was used to adjust for informative censoring and balance baseline characteristics between the groups. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on FIGO stages and extraperitoneal metastasis locations. The study included patients under 75 years of age, in good health condition, diagnosed with FIGO IV ovarian cancer between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2022. The primary and secondary outcomes were respectively five-year progression-free survival and seven-year overall survival. Among the 2,772 patients included in the study, 948 (34.2%) were classified as FIGO IVA and 1,824 (65.8%) as FIGO IVB at inclusion. Primary cytoreductive surgery was performed on 1,182 patients (42.6%), while interval cytoreductive surgery was conducted on 1,590 patients (57.4%). The median progression survival for primary cytoreductive surgery was 19.7 months (interquartile range [IQR]: 19.3-20.1), compared to 15.7 months (IQR: 15.7-16.1) for those who underwent interval cytoreductive surgery. The median overall survival was 63.1 months [IQR: 61.7-65.4] for primary cytoreductive surgery, in comparison to 55.6 months [IQR: 53.8-56.3] for interval cytoreductive surgery. The findings of our study indicate that primary cytoreductive surgery is associated with a 5.0-month increase in five-year progression-free survival (95% Confidence Intervals [CI]: 3.8-6.2) and a 3.9-month increase in seven-year overall survival (95% CI: 1.9-6.2). These survival benefits of primary over interval cytoreductive surgery were observed in both the FIGO IVA and IVB subgroups. Primary cytoreductive surgery demonstrated improved progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with pleural, supra-diaphragmatic, or extra-abdominal lymph node metastasis. SOFI-4 advocates for the benefits of primary cytoreductive surgery over interval cytoreductive surgery for patients with FIGO IV ovarian cancer, suggesting extraperitoneal metastases like supra-diaphragmatic or extra-abdominal lymph nodes should not automatically preclude primary cytoreductive surgery consideration in suitable patients.