A clinical and pathologic study of 30 cases of malignant mixed mullerian epithelial and mesenchymal ovarian tumors: a Gynecologic Oncology Group study

Between November 1971 and June 1980, thirty patients with primary malignant mixed mullerian tumors of the ovary were entered into a Gynecologic Oncology Group registry and treatment protocol. The mean age of the patients is 60.4 years. Six were Stage II, twenty-three were Stage III, and one patient had Stage IV disease. Among the 30 cases, 15 were designated carcinosarcomas (CS) and 15 were mixed mesodermal sarcomas (MMS). Twenty-three of the thirty study patients died from 1 to 16 months following their initial surgery. Two of the seven living patients have persistent cancer at 11 and 54 months. Four patients were alive and well at 6, 11, 22, and 32 months at the close of the study. Of the 12 patients receiving vincristine, dactinomycin, and cyclophosphamide (VAC) with (8 cases) or without (4 cases) radiation therapy (RT), there were two clinical complete responses; both died with disease at 6 and 16 months. One of the six patients receiving adriamycin had a complete response (CR). She is alive with disease at 11 months. There was no apparent difference in the survival or stage distribution among the cases with CS and MMS. Survival was somewhat better for the patients with earlier stage disease or smaller residual tumor burden.