Cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in the treatment of ovarian cancer

Abstract

The most common cause of primary ovarian malignancy is epithelial carcinoma, accounting for 95% of malignant ovarian neoplasia. The lifetime risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is 1/70 females, representing the leading cause of gynecologic malignancy death. Due to its indolent clinical course, EOC tends to be diagnosed at an advanced stage, often resulting in unfavorable outcomes, since the stage at diagnosis is the most significant prognostic factor. So far the standard of care for ovarian cancer has been surgery followed by systemic chemotherapy. However, treatment with cytoreductive surgery, as described by Sugarbaker, and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is another approach, showing promising results.