ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study is to identify the effect of synchronous prophylactic oophorectomy in women undergoing colorectal cancer surgery on long-term survival, recurrences and sites of failure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From 1987 to 2003, 124 women, mean age 69+/-10 (35-91) years, with colorectal carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed. In 70 (56.5%) women the ovaries were preserved during surgery and 54 (43.5%) women underwent synchronous prophylactic oophorectomy during primary tumour resection. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to assess the effect of oophorectomy on long-term survival, recurrences and sites of failure. RESULTS: By univariate analysis it was demonstrated that synchronous oophorectomy had no effect on long-term survival (p=0.7294). By multivariate analysis it was demonstrated that stage was the only factor independently influencing survival (p=0.0061). Twenty-eight patients (23%) developed recurrence and 10 of them developed locoregional recurrence. By univariate analysis it was demonstrated that the number of recurrences was not different between women with or without oophorectomy (p=0.259). Distant and locoregional recurrences were not different between women undergoing resection of primary colorectal carcinoma with or without oophorectomy (p=0.611). CONCLUSIONS: Oophorectomy does not appear to influence long-term survival, the total number of recurrences or the sites of failure.
