Table of Contents
Treatment Options for Stage I and Stage II Ovarian Cancer
Treatment options for stage I and stage II ovarian epithelial cancer may include:
- Surgery: Removal of the uterus (total hysterectomy), removal of both ovaries and fallopian tubes (bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy); partial removal of the omentum (omentectomy); and surgical staging of the lymph nodes and other tissues in the pelvis and abdomen. (Carefully selected premenopausal women in Stage I with the lowest-grade tumors in one ovary may sometimes be treated only with the removal of the diseased ovary and tube in order to preserve fertility.)
- Chemotherapy: Patients with stage IA or B disease, grade 1 (or sometimes grade 2), usually do not need further therapy after surgery. However, higher risk patients (stage IC, stage I/grade 3) are usually treated with platinum-based chemotherapy to reduce their risk of subsequent relapse.
- Clinical trials with radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or new treatments
Treatment Options for Stage III and Stage IV Ovarian Cancer
Treatment options for stage III and stage IV ovarian epithelial cancer may include:
- Surgery: Removal of the tumor (debulking), total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy, and omentectomy
- Chemotherapy: Combination chemotherapy with a platinum-based drug and a taxane drug delivered intraperitoneally (through the abdominal cavity)
- Clinical trials of biologic drugs (targeted therapy) following combination chemotherapy
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Click the icon to see an illustrated series detailing hysterectomy. |
Treatment Options for Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
If ovarian cancer returns or persists after treatment, chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment, although it is not generally curative in the setting of relapsed disease. Clinical trial options include additional surgical debulking, and biologic drug therapy combined with chemotherapy.
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Review Date: 11/04/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical
School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by
David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
