ObjectiveTo determine whether rupture of malignant ovarian epithelial tumors at the time of operation influences the patient's overall prognosis.MethodsBetween 1975 and 1990, 79 patients with stage I invasive epithelial ovarian cancer were treated at Massachusetts General Hospital. Patients were identified from the tumor registry, and charts were reviewed retrospectively. In 71 of the 79 cases, pathologic slides were evaluated. Of the 79 patients, 36 had stage Ia tumors, 20 stage Ic secondary to intraoperative rupture (Ic-rupture), and 17 stage Ic secondary to capsular invasion-serosal disease or positive ascites or washings (stage Ic-other). Survival analysis was performed to compare the three groups of patients.ResultsThere were four recurrences and deaths among the 20 women with stage Ic-rupture tumors (20%), compared to one (3%) among the 36 women with stage Ia. The recurrence-free survival at the median follow-up time for the two groups was 97 ± 3 and 78 ± 10 months, respectively (P= .03); overall survival was 97 ± 3 and 73 ± 12 months (P= .04). There were two recurrences (12%) and one death (6%) among the 17 women with stage Ic-other, giving recurrence-free and overall survivals of 88 ± 8 and 94 ± 6 months, respectively. The survival experience of this last group was not significantly different from that in the Ic-rupture group (P= .2). The hazard ratios for overall survival associated with stage Ic-rupture and each potential confounder, except for bloating, exceeded 6.5, withP≤ .10. All deaths occurred in the 28 patients with grade 2 or 3 tumors. Even in this smaller group, the hazard ratio for stage Ic-rupture was 6.8 (P= .09).ConclusionIntraoperative rupture of malignant epithelial ovarian neoplasms may worsen the prognosis of patients with stage I ovarian cancer.