Treatment

Women with ovarian cancer are usually treated with surgery and chemotherapy. Radiation may be used in some cases. Your doctor will describe your treatment choices and the expected results of each, and develop the best treatment plan for you.

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Treatment of ovarian cancer depends on a number of factors, including:

• The stage of the cancer
• The size of the tumor after debulking
• Your desire to have children
• Your age and overall health

Surgery is used to diagnose ovarian cancer, to determine how far the disease has progressed, and to remove as much of the cancer as can be removed. How much surgery you have depends on whether the cancer has spread outside the ovary or ovaries, your general health, your desire to have children, and whether the tumor can be completely removed; in some cases, this is impossible because it is attached to or involves other vital organs. The surgery for ovarian cancer should ideally be performed by a gynecologic oncologist (a physician specifically trained to provide both surgical and medical care for women with gynecologic malignancies). Studies have shown that women who have their surgery performed by a gynecological oncologist live longer than those who do not.

Debulking (surgical cytoreduction), in which the surgeon tries to remove as much of the tumor as possible, is an important procedure for ovarian cancer. If you are a candidate for ovarian cancer surgery, you will have debulking, which includes a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix). In addition to the hysterectomy, you may also have a unilateral (one side) salpingo-oophorectomy, where one ovary and one fallopian tube are removed, or a bilateral (two sides) salpingo-oophorectomy, where both ovaries and both fallopian tubes are removed. Most women with ovarian cancer are treated with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.

Once a diagnosis of ovarian cancer is made, your doctor will explain your prognosis and treatment options. Your prognosis is what the doctor thinks will happen with your cancer--your chance of recovery, the expected course of the cancer, or the length of time you are likely to be sick.

Your prognosis will depend on:

• The stage of the cancer
• The type of ovarian cancer (epithelium, germ, or sex cord-stromal cells)
• The size of the tumor after debulking

This section contains more information on:

Staging

Surgery

Other surgery

Chemotherapy

Radiation therapy

Treatment of recurrent or persistent ovarian cancer

Complementary therapy

Improving prevention, detection, and treatment survival

Survival