Sequential therapy for advanced ovarian adenocarcinoma: operation, chemotherapy, second-look laparotomy, and...

In an attempt to improve the survival rates in women with advanced ovarian adenocarcinoma (abdominal spread), they were treated with sequential therapy. This consisted of operation followed by chemotherapy, second-look exploratory laparotomy, and finally whole-abdomen irradiation. Only those patients who had a complete clinical response to chemotherapy and subsequently underwent a second operation and irradiation were evaluated. Seventy-five per cent of the patients had recurrent cancer within the treated area after sequential therapy was completed. Morever, of four patients with no gross residual cancer after the second operation, three had cancer recurrences within the treated area. It is concluded that methods of treating advanced ovarian adenocarcinoma other than sequential therapy must be found.