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Limits to the "benefits" from our oncologic interventions: a case report
1Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to discuss the potential implications of prolonged and aggressive treatment of long-term survivors of ovarian cancer.
Methods:
A case report of a patient with ovarian cancer extensively treated with platinum-based chemotherapy and aggressive surgery is presented.
Results:
A woman with a >15-year history of ovarian cancer experienced severe neurotoxicity (peripheral neuropathy, hearing loss), underwent aggressive resection of asymptomatic and long-standing metastatic disease in the liver (with tumor recurrence <1 year after surgery), and subsequently died of secondary acute leukemia.
Conclusion:
It is critical that oncologists remember that the theoretical benefits of available anti-neoplastic interventions must be carefully and constantly weighted against the potential harm they may cause.