# Hormonal maintenance therapy for women with low-grade serous cancer of the ovary or peritoneum

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-gershenson-hormonal-maintenance-lgsoc-jco-2017/  
OnCo record `paper-gershenson-hormonal-maintenance-lgsoc-jco-2017` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

In this retrospective study, women who took an aromatase inhibitor or other hormonal therapy after first-line surgery and chemotherapy for low-grade serous ovarian cancer had a median progression-free survival of over five years compared with about two years with observation.

## Summary

Retrospective analysis of 203 women with stage II to IV low-grade serous carcinoma treated with primary surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy, comparing those who received hormonal maintenance therapy (mostly letrozole) with those observed.

Median progression-free survival was 64.9 months with hormonal maintenance against 26.4 months with observation, with the benefit maintained in women without residual disease and in a multivariable analysis.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Year: 2017
- DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2016.71.0632
- Authors: Gershenson DM, Bodurka DC, Coleman RL, et al.
- Findings: Median progression-free survival 64.9 vs 26.4 months.; Benefit maintained in patients with no gross residual disease.
- What it means: Letrozole maintenance after first-line therapy is now common practice and guideline-supported for low-grade serous ovarian cancer, and the randomised NRG-GY019 trial is testing letrozole alone.
- Caveats: Retrospective single-institution study with selection bias.; No overall survival difference.

## Sources

- J Clin Oncol 2017: https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2016.71.0632
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28221866/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Low-grade serous ovarian cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/low-grade-serous-ovarian-cancer/)
- journals: [Journal of Clinical Oncology](https://onco.cc/journals/jco/)

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