Chemotherapy and "second-look" procedure in the treatment of ovarian carcinoma

A combination of chemotherapy with a "second-look" operation has its place in a long-tern treatment of ovarian cancer of stage III, though it will hardly improve the long-term results--the 5-year survival in this stage. Ocassionally, this combination may prove useful and even decisive for prolonging life and even bringing about recovery. This would apply to less advanced, better cases of stage III and to carcinomas with a lesser biological malignancy. "Second-look" operations may be indicated not only in an improvement of the local finding as has been reported up to now by several authors, but also if this local finding has not improved but the patients overall condition is satisfactory or has not deteriorated since the first laparotomy, especially if the latter had been performed at another hospital. The time for the second-look operation must be determined individually according to the clinical course.