# DESKTOP III: secondary cytoreductive surgery for recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-desktop-iii-nejm-2021/  
OnCo record `paper-desktop-iii-nejm-2021` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

In women with a first platinum-sensitive relapse selected by a simple score predicting complete resectability, surgery before chemotherapy lengthened survival by about a year, but only when all visible disease was removed.

## Summary

Phase 3 trial of 407 patients with first relapse of ovarian cancer after a platinum-free interval of six months or more and a positive AGO score (good performance status, complete resection at first surgery, ascites under 500 ml), randomised to secondary cytoreductive surgery followed by chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone.

Median overall survival was 53.7 versus 46.0 months (hazard ratio 0.75) and progression-free survival 18.4 versus 14.0 months; patients with complete resection had a median survival of 61.9 months, while incomplete resection was worse than no surgery.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Journal: New England Journal of Medicine
- Year: 2021
- DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2103294
- Authors: Harter P, Sehouli J, Vergote I, et al.
- Findings: Median overall survival 53.7 vs 46.0 months; hazard ratio 0.75.; Complete resection in 75 percent of surgical patients; median survival 61.9 months in that group.
- What it means: Secondary cytoreduction is recommended for AGO score-positive patients at first platinum-sensitive relapse in centres where complete resection can be achieved in most cases.
- Caveats: The GOG-0213 trial found no benefit, possibly because of less stringent selection and bevacizumab use.; Requires high-volume surgical expertise.

## Sources

- N Engl J Med 2021: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2103294
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34874631/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/platinum-sensitive-ovarian-cancer/)
- trials: [DESKTOP III / ENGOT-ov20](https://onco.cc/trials/desktop-iii/)
- journals: [New England Journal of Medicine](https://onco.cc/journals/nejm/)

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