Advanced ovarian cancer

State-of-the-art treatment for advanced ovarian cancer requires a multimodality approach. Aggressive surgical debulking with the goal of optimal cytoreduction is the initial step. After primary cytoreductive surgery, standard treatment for patients with stage III and IV disease is systemic combination chemotherapy consisting of six cycles of paclitaxel and carboplatin. Approximately 70% of patients enter a clinical remission with this approach, yet less than 30% remain disease free. Options following primary therapy include observation or second surgical assessment if no clinical evidence of disease is present. Novel strategies for consolidation are needed. Second-look surgery can be performed safely and effectively laparoscopically, and this is the most accurate means of identifying patients who appear to be clinically free of disease but actually harbor persistent cancer. Although this procedure is an extremely accurate means of identifying these patients, women who have pathologically negative second-look surgery are still at risk for relapse. Patients can receive additional treatment following second-look surgical assessment via the intraperitoneal route if they are pathologically negative or if they have microscopic or small volume disease. Alternatively, additional systemic chemotherapy can be given with non-cross-resistant systemic agents, but no current standard approach for consolidation therapy exists for patients following the completion of primary treatment. Unfortunately, most patients relapse. Multiple agents with similar activity in phase II trials are available to treat patients with advanced recurrent disease. Combination therapy in this setting has not been shown to have significantly superior progression-free or overall survival compared with single agents. The selection of treatment for patients with recurrent disease is currently based on a determination of the treatment-free interval since last treatment, as well as the route, schedule, and expected side effects of the agent.