[Treatment and follow-up for ovarian cancer]

Current status and problems concerning the theme of the treatment and follow-up against ovarian cancer were presented. In the early stage tumors, a newly proposed staging criteria by FIGO will help to resolve the problems. Accurate staging operation may clarify the definite criteria of 'early' cancer and allows to select out subgroup of curable patients by surgery alone. Systematic lymph adenectomy may also define how extensive the initial operation should be. Considering the situations surrounding the progressive disease, however, much remains to be resolved. Which should we take as the primary treatment, surgical or chemical cytoreduction? Since neither surgery nor chemotherapy has curative potential as a monotreatment, indeed, it is important to realize to know the best timing of sequencing or combining of these treatment modalities. To define the optimal management for patients with ovarian cancer, a randomized clinical trial should be designed using various treatment protocols.