Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Rare Ovarian Tumors with David Gershenson and Koji Matsuo

In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Drs. David Gershenson and Koji Matsuo. Dr. Gershenson is Professor and former Chair of the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. His major focus is on the clinical and translational research or rare ovarian cancers. Dr. Matsuo is a clinician-scientist in the area of gynecologic oncology. Equally attentive to patient care, he devotes his work to scholarly activity related to patient outcomes, quality improvement, and healthcare service research in gynecologic malignancies.   Highlights: Role and effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy have been understudied in less common epithelial ovarian cancer, including clear cell, mucinous, and low-grade serous histologies. In this retrospective analysis of two U.S. tumor registries, utilization of neoadjuvant chemotherapy has increased for these less common epithelial ovarian cancers in recent years. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with decreased overall survival in low-grade serous ovarian cancer, and this association was particularly observed in historically favorable groups (younger, healthier, and earlier disease). The results of current investigation endorse the importance of being aware of histology-specific survival effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in epithelial ovarian cancer. In advanced low-grade serous ovarian cancer, data suggest that primary cytoreduction may be beneficial even optimal cytoreduction is not achievable in certain patients (younger, healthier, and earlier disease).