Clinicopathological factors and prognosis analysis of 39 cases of non-gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma

Purpose Non-gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma (NGOC) is a rare malignant germ cell tumor. Through literature review and cases collection, we aim to analyze prognostic factors for NGOC and summarize its clinicopathological characteristics to guide the individualized treatment. Methods We searched PubMed database, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar for cases published between January 1, 1967 and July 31, 2018 using various search terms. We retrieved patients’ clinicopathological characteristics, treatment, and prognosis information from included studies. These patients were divided into two groups: died (case group) or alive (control group) group. We summarized and compared their clinical (age, symptoms, R0 resection, serum HCG levels, chemotherapy regimen) and pathological (pure vs non-pure type, tumor size, tumor location, metastasis sites, stage) features by statistical analysis. Results Only 39 patients were retrieved from 36 studies in total. The median age was 30 years (range 12- to 65-years old). The peak incidence was in the adolescent age 12–25 years. Median follow-up was 20.3 months (range 1–84 months). 9 (23%) patients died; 24 (62%) patients were alive; 6 (15%) were lost to follow-up. Upon univariate analysis, we found age had a poor impact on overall survival (OS) in NGOC, HR − 0.057, 95% CI − 0.111 to − 0.004. Pure type NGOC has a better OS than mixed type, HR − 2.621, 95% CI − 4.577 to − 0.666. R0 resection is a good prognostic factor for OS, HR 2.967, 95% CI 0.709–5.224. Conclusion Clinicians should try to achieve R0 resection to improve the prognosis for NGOC patients even among advanced patients.