Current management of fallopian tube carcinoma

The management of fallopian tube carcinoma is similar to that of ovarian carcinoma. Surgery should consist of bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, total abdominal hysterectomy, comprehensive surgical staging also including a systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy, and aggressive debulking in patients with advanced tumour. Patients with apparently early stage low-risk fallopian tube carcinoma, not submitted to complete surgical staging, as well as those with early stage high-risk disease should receive adjuvant single-agent carboplatin. Patients with advanced disease should undergo paclitaxel- plus carboplatin-based chemotherapy. Second-line treatment for persistent/recurrent disease should be mainly based on the platinum-free interval, whereas secondary cytoreduction should be considered only for highly selected patients with localized, late relapse.