Predicting the course of disease in recurrent vulvar cancer - A subset analysis of the AGO-CaRE-1 study.

OBJECTIVE

In vulvar cancer (VSCC), the course of disease with regard to localization of recurrence and relation of different recurrence sites is poorly described.

METHODS

The AGO CaRE-1 study is a retrospective survey of treatment patterns and prognostic factors in vulvar cancer. Patients (pts) with primary VSCC, FIGO stage ≥1B treated in Germany from 1998 to 2008 were included in a centralized database (n = 1618). In the current subgroup analysis, different sites of primary recurrence and their impact on disease course and survival were analyzed using multistate and competing risks methods.

RESULTS

1249 pts with surgical groin staging and known lymph-node status (35.8% N+) were included in the analysis. 360 pts (28.8%) developed disease recurrence; thereof 193 (53.6%) at the vulva only, with a cumulative incidence of 12.6% after 2 years. Generally, prognosis after disease depended on recurrence site: Hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval) to die for pts with compared to without recurrence at the same time: vulvar only: 5.9 (4.3-8.2); groins only: 6.0 (3.0-10.2); vulvar and groins: 14.1 (7.6-26.4); pelvic/distant: 21.2 (15.3-29.4). Fifty-eight (30.1%) pts with local recurrence developed second recurrence. 2-year mortality after any recurrence was 56.3%. After vulvar recurrence pts had a 2-year and 5-year overall survival rate of 82.2% and 66.9%.

CONCLUSIONS

Prognosis after recurrence is highly depending on recurrence site. Pts with isolated vulvar recurrence have an impaired prognosis as many affected pts develop second recurrences.