Surgical efficacy and quality of wide resection of the pelvic peritoneum in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

Abstract: Purpose The aim of study was to evaluate the impact of adding an extensive pelvic peritoneal stripping procedure, termed “wide resection of the pelvic peritoneum,” (WRPP) to standard surgery for epithelial ovarian cancer on survival effectiveness and to investigate the role of ovarian cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the pelvic peritoneum. Methods A total of 166 patients with ovarian cancer undergoing surgical treatment at Kumamoto University Hospital between 2002 and 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Eligible patients were divided into three groups based on the surgical approach: standard surgery (SS) group (n = 36), WRPP group (standard surgery plus WRPP, n = 100), and rectosigmoidectomy (RS) group (standard surgery plus RS, n = 30). Survival outcomes were compared between the three groups. CD44 variant 6 (CD44v6) and EpCAM expression, as markers of ovarian CSCs, in peritoneal disseminated tumors were evaluated using immunofluorescence staining. Results With respect to patients with stage III–IV ovarian cancer, there were significant differences in overall and progression-free survival between the WRPP and SS groups, as revealed by univariate (hazard ratio [HR], 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17–0.69; P = 0.003 and HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.31–0.95; P = 0.032, respectively) and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model (HR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.17–0.70; P = 0.003 and HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.31–0.95; P = 0.032, respectively). Further, no significant differences were observed in survival outcomes between the RS group and the SS or WRPP group. Regarding the safety of WRPP, no significant differences in major intraoperative and postoperative complications were found between the three groups. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed a high percentage of CD44v6/EpCAM double-positive ovarian cancer cells in peritoneal disseminated tumors. Conclusion The present study demonstrates that WRPP significantly contributes to improved survival in patients with stage III–IV advanced ovarian cancer. WRPP could result in eradicating ovarian CSCs and disrupting the CSC niche microenvironment in the pelvic peritoneum.