Management of women with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States. Initial management is reviewed here and is best provided by a multidisciplinary team, including a gynecologic oncologist and a medical oncologist. Typically these patients are first treated with aggressive surgical debulking, followed by chemotherapy. Exceptions to this strategy, including those for patients adequately treated with surgery alone and those better served by neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), are discussed. The history and rationale of current chemotherapy regimens, both intravenous (IV) and intraperitoneal (IP), are reviewed. Given the chemo-sensitive nature of this disease, as well as the fact that it remains largely incurable in advanced stages, efforts continue to be made to improve initial therapy. This disease represents an excellent target for new drug development, and some of the newer agents in trials for ovarian cancer are discussed.