Objective

To investigate the prognostic impact of metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) on advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT).

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study using data from patients managed by a single gynecological team between June 2012 and June 2023. Among EOC patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIIC or IV disease, patients who received NACT and who underwent complete cytoreduction during interval debulking surgery were included (the NACT cohort), together with patients who received primary debulking surgery (PDS, including those with both complete and incomplete cytoreduction). Clinically suspicious lymph nodes at diagnosis and/or debulking surgeries were resected. Differences in terms of clinicopathological features, survival profiles, and recurrence patterns were analyzed between groups with different lymph node statuses.

Results

The NACT cohort comprised 166 patients (53.6% underwent lymphadenectomy), of whom 58 presented with MLNs (the MLN group) and 108 did not (the NLN group). Among those who underwent lymphadenectomy, a median of 24 pelvic lymph nodes and 13 para-aortic lymph nodes were resected. The MLN group was significantly associated with inferior progression-free survival (PFS) and time to platinum-resistant recurrence (TTPR), even when adjusted by multivariate models. The hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) was 1.90 (1.06–3.41) for the multivariate PFS analysis and 2.50 (1.22–5.13) for the multivariate TTPR analysis. For the PDS cohort (143 patients, 68.5% underwent lymphadenectomy), a median of 25 pelvic lymph nodes and 14 para-aortic lymph nodes were resected. The MLN group (66 patients) manifested non-inferior PFS and TTPR outcomes compared to the NLN group (77 patients).

Conclusions

MLNs may have a negative impact on the prognosis of patients receiving NACT. For such patients, PDS is a preferred choice to delay recurrence and platinum resistance.