# Does an Autoimmune Disorder Following Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis Affect Prognosis?

## TL;DR

Women with ovarian cancer who later develop an autoimmune disorder tend to live longer, suggesting immune activation may help control cancer.

## Contribution

This study shows that autoimmune disorders developing after ovarian cancer diagnosis are linked to improved survival, possibly due to immune system activation.

## Key findings

- Patients who developed an autoimmune disorder after diagnosis survived longer (8 years) compared to those who did not (2.7 years).
- Multivariate analysis found that developing an autoimmune disorder was associated with longer survival (HR 0.113).
- Older age was associated with poorer prognosis (HR 1.04).

## Abstract

We investigated whether developing an autoimmune disorder (AID) following a high-grade epithelial ovarian cancer diagnosis improves overall survival. This retrospective study included data from women treated for high-grade serous, endometrioid, or transitional cell ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer FIGO stage III or IV at a Swiss cantonal gynecological cancer center (2008–2023). We used Kaplan–Meier estimates and the Cox proportional hazards model using time-varying covariates for the survival function estimation. In all, 9 of 128 patients developed an AID following a cancer diagnosis. The median time from cancer diagnosis to AID was 2 years (IQR 2–5). These women survived for a median of 3031 days (IQR 1765–3963) versus 972 days (IQR 568–1819) for those who did not develop an AID (p = 0.001). The median overall survival of nine women with a pre-existing AID was 1093 days (IQR 716–1705), similar to those who never had an AID. The multivariate analyses showed older age (p = 0.003, HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.013–1.064) was associated with a poorer prognosis, and developing an AID after a cancer diagnosis was associated with longer survival (p = 0.033, HR 0.113, 95% CI 0.015–0.837). Clinical manifestations of autoimmune disorders following ovarian cancer diagnoses were associated with better overall survival (8 versus 2.7 years), indicating an overactive immune response may improve cancer control.