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Treatment of ovarian cancer
Treatment of ovarian cancer depends on the stage of diagnosis of ovarian cancer. The modalities of treatment include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Early stage ovarian cancer is treated by surgery alone, and these patients may have the option of preservation of fertility. Most commonly the surgery involves removal of both the ovaries, fallopian tubes and surrounding lymph glands and part of omentum. Aim of the surgery is to remove as much cancer as possible. In the early stages the surgeon may be able to remove the entire cancer, however if the cancer is advanced the option of reducing bulk of the disease is adopted, and this is called debulking. Ideally, less than a total of 1 cubic centimeter of tumor matter remains in the abdominal cavity after optimal debulking. This often involves removing part of the intestines or other radical procedures.
Unless the ovarian cancer is very early stage, the patient is treated with combination chemotherapy after surgery. Combinations of chemotherapy drugs have demonstrated improved survival rates in ovarian cancer. For years, the standard treatment for ovarian cancer was a combination of two chemotherapy drugs, cisplatin (Platinol) and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan). Today, the combination of the drugs cisplatin or carboplatin (Paraplatin) with the drug paclitaxel (Taxol) may improve survival rates among women with advanced-stage ovarian cancer.
Radiation therapy has limited role in the treatment of ovarian cancer. It is often used in palliation to reliveve the local symptoms caused by the ovarian cancer progression. Other treatments such as bone marrow transplants, gene therapy and immunotherapy are being investigated for use in treating ovarian cancer.
More resources for ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer news
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer genetic testing
Breast cancer and ovarian cancer resources
cancer Basics
Introduction to cancer
Cancer information
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