Diagnostic tests have defined the stage of ovarian cancer. This one directs the treatment put in place. Ovarian cancer treatments primarily involve surgery and chemotherapy.
Surgery is the most used treatment for treating ovarian cancer. It depends on the stage and, where possible, the situation of the woman and her wishes (woman still wanting pregnancies, menopausal woman …). Chemotherapy is often used in addition to surgery, either before or after surgery.
Ovarian Cancer: Early Surgery
When the surgeon discovers that the tumor is apparently located only in one or both ovaries, it is an early cancer. The surgery at this stage depends on the situation of the woman. In the menopausal woman or no longer desiring pregnancy, the surgeon removes both ovaries and the uterus after examining all organs of the abdominal cavity. Exams are routinely performed to ensure that this is a form of cancer limited to the ovaries.
In a woman desiring pregnancies two situations can arise. When a tumor is found only on one ovary, the surgeon takes samples from the ovary. If the examination reveals the presence of cancer cells, it removes the ovary on which these cells were found and can retain the other ovary. He then proceeds to a careful exploration of the whole peritoneal cavity and the ganglia as well as samples.
In the case where one or more tumors on the ovaries are detected, it is necessary to remove both ovaries. The surgeon can keep the uterus after examining it during the operation. Keeping the uterus in place allows menstruation through hormone replacement therapy. It also allows for pregnancy by donating
Ovarian Cancer: Advanced Surgery
Surgery for late-stage ovarian cancer – cancer cells in the abdominal cavity or in the lymph nodes – is different from surgery for early-stage ovarian cancer. In this case, the surgeon removes the two ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the uterus. Along with the reproductive organs, the epiploon (section of tissue from the top of the stomach to the underside of the transverse colon and small intestine that covers and supports different abdominal organs and blood vessels) and some lymph nodes lymphatics in the abdomen can be removed.
If you find that the cancer has spread throughout the abdomen, you will often try to extract as much cancer tissue as possible. This operation is called tumor volume reduction surgery. In some cases, after a first series of chemo-therapies, if the CT scan shows a regression of the lesions, a second intervention is proposed, called reassessment (or second look) to determine the follow-up to the treatment, or to complete the first surgery. if it was incomplete.
Chemotherapy of Ovarian Cancer
Surgery for ovarian cancer, whether at an early stage or at an advanced stage, is most often followed by 6 courses of chemotherapy . Only a few highly localized cancers or a few borderline tumors (tumors that often occur in younger women and have an excellent prognosis) do not require chemotherapy after surgery. Chemotherapy aims to reduce the risk of recurrence. For more details, visit this site.
Made before surgery, it can reduce the volume of the tumor and facilitate the operation. Chemotherapy has largely progressed in recent years, thanks to the arrival of new highly active drugs and new modes of administration of these products: in addition to chemotherapy by blood (intravenous or intra-arterial infusion), surgery intraperitoneal allows in some cases to act more rapidly on intra-pelvic tumor foci.
Then follow up, to ensure that there is no resumption of the tumor process. This monitoring, which must be regular and prolonged, is done through clinical examination, biology (CA 125 marker) and imaging.