This study was conducted on patients with ovarian cancer in order to evaluate survival.

Design:

A retrospective study of 119 cases of avarian cancer from January 1977 to December 1992 with observation until 1993.

Location:

Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ribeirao Preto School of Medicine, Sao Paulo University.

Participants:

Of the 119 cases, 70 (58.8 percent) presented epithelial carcinomas and 21 (17.6 percent) tumors of the sexual girdle/stroma.

Data source:

The data were obtained from the medical records of the patients.

Measurement:

Statistical analysis of survival time was based on the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test with the level of significance set at P < 0.05.

Results:

The patients with a negative second look had a mean survival of 79.4 + 48.5 months versus 24.2 + 15.1 months for patients with a positive second look (P < 0.02).

Conclusions:

It is concluded that patients with a negative second lool present a better prognosis compared to those with residual disease.