The prognosis in ovarian cancer patients remains poor, and there is a need to identify patients who are less likely to respond to treatment. In a prospective study of patients with ovarian carcinoma treated by a standard protocol, variables such as age, tumor type, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, histologic grade, results from flow cytometry, receptors for estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR), and serum CA 125 were correlated to relapse and survival. Univariate analysis revealed that stage, histologic grade, DNA ploidy, ER, PR, and CA 125 were of significant association to survival, but only stage, DNA ploidy, PR, and CA 125 were found to be of significant value to relapse. Multivariate analysis identified DNA ploidy as an independent prognostic variable for both relapse and survival.