Evaluation of preoperative prediction of intestinal invasion in patients with ovarian cancer.

Objective: To optimize prediction for intestinal invasion of epithelial ovarian cancer. It is important to achieve debulking surgery to improve prognosis in ovarian cancer; intestinal resection is adopted if the cancer is invaded and resectable, but the preoperative evaluation method of intestinal invasion is still controversial.

Methods: Patients (n = 174) who underwent primary debulking surgery for epithelial ovarian cancer were recruited for retrospective study; 28 and 146 patients were classified into the invasion and non-invasion groups, whether they needed intestinal resection or not. We collected clinical data including evaluation of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and barium contrast radiography, and analyzed their accuracy.

Results: The sensitivity and specificity for intestinal invasion were 33.3% and 98.6%, 42.9% and 98.6%, and 66.7% and 93.9% in CT, MRI, and barium contrast radiography, respectively. CT and MRI combined showed a sensitivity of 58.3% and specificity of 96.9%; all three methods combined was the most sensitive combination, showing a sensitivity of 79.2% and specificity of 90.8%.

Conclusion: Combination of CT, MRI, and barium contrast radiography predicts intestinal invasion with the highest sensitivity. These three modalities, however, could not predict all intestinal invasion. Patients should be informed of the possibility of unexpected extensive resection.