Surgical treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer: report of 21 cases and a review of the literature.

AIM: To evaluate the role of secondary cytoreductive surgery in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted on 21 patients submitted to secondary cytoreductive surgery for apparently isolated and resectable recurrence of ovarian cancer, after a disease-free interval of at least 12 months. RESULTS: Fifteen patients (71%) had complete surgical debulking with no macroscopic tumor at the completion of the surgical procedure. Eight patients (38%) required an intestinal resection but no colostomy was performed. Eleven complications were recorded in nine patients, but no operative death occurred. The median survival time for all patients after diagnosis of recurrent disease was 29 months (range 6-96 months). Survival time after diagnosis of recurrence was not significantly related either to known prognostic factors of ovarian cancer or to the length of the clinical remission time. The absence of residual disease after salvage surgery was the only factory associated with prolonged survival. CONCLUSION: Secondary cytoreductive surgery is a safe procedure which should be offered to recurrent ovarian cancer patients with apparently isolated and resectable disease, and without ascitis.     

卵巢癌的初始与间歇性肿瘤细胞减灭术相关问题

临床工作中对晚期卵巢癌患者施行新辅助化疗(neoadjuvant chemotherapy,NACT)的比例逐年增加.尽管基于现有的循证医学证据,晚期上皮性卵巢癌采用NACT联合间歇性肿瘤细胞减灭术有着不低于初始肿瘤细胞减灭术的疗效,更低的术后病率,但目前对于卵巢癌NACT仍存在较多争议.新诊断的晚期卵巢癌患者治疗前需...     

Interval debulking surgery in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer

Cytoreductive surgery and chemotherapy are the mainstay for the treatment of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. In order to minimize the tumour burden before chemotherapy, cytoreductive surgery is usually performed first. The importance of the amount of residual disease as the main prognostic factor for patients suffering from advanced disease has been almost universally accepted even in the absence of prospective randomized trials addressing the benefit of cytoreductive surgery. In the last decade, the value of debulking surgery after induction chemotherapy - interval debulking surgery, IDS - has been widely debated, especially after the completion of a prospective randomized study from the EORTC addressing the introduction of a surgical procedure with debulking intent preceded and followed by cytoreductive chemotherapy. The rationale of such a strategy in the context of the primary treatment of advanced ovarian cancer lies in a higher cytoreductibility to the 'optimal' status forwarded, and possibly facilitated, by chemotherapy. The results demonstrated a prolongation of both progression-free survival and median survival in favour of patients randomized to IDS (5 and 6 months, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed IDS to be an independent prognostic factor which reduced the risk of death by 33% at 3 years and by 48% in subsequent re-evaluation after more than 6 years of observation. Despite the above, results have been questioned by many, leading the GOG to perform a similar study which has been concluded very recently. Nevertheless, the main concern regarding the application of IDS in all instances relates to the morbidity of two major surgical procedures integrated within a short period during which cytotoxic chemotherapy is also administered. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been recently proposed to avoid a non-useful surgical procedure in patients considered 'optimally unresectable' after diagnosis of advanced ovarian cancer. Whether or not this newer approach will translate into a longer survival with a better quality of life is going to be addressed by a novel EORTC study. Finally, the concept of a 'chemical' cytoreduction preceding and facilitating a subsequent 'surgical' effort has been recently introduced also in the treatment of recurrent disease. The EORTC has recently initiated a prospective randomized study (LOROCSON - Late Onset Recurrent Ovarian Cancer: Surgery or Not) to validate the importance of such an approach to be balanced with medical treatment alone not only in terms of survival but also as far as quality of life is concerned.     

Prognostic factors of stage IV epithelial ovarian cancer: a multicenter retrospective study

OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we conducted a multicenter retrospective analysis to elucidate the prognostic factors of stage IV epithelial ovarian cancer. METHODS: In November 1999, 24 Japanese institutions received questionnaires regarding stage IV epithelial ovarian cancer patients. Eligibility criteria included all patients with stage IV epithelial ovarian cancer who were surgically confirmed and initially treated in each institution between January 1990 and December 1997. Data were collected regarding age, performance status, tumor histologic subtype, site of metastasis, preoperative CA125, cytoreductive surgery, residual disease after cytoreductive surgery, and response to primary chemotherapy. Survival analysis and comparisons were performed by univariate and multivariate methods. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-five patients with stage IV ovarian cancer were identified. The median age of the patients was 54 years. The most common site of extraperitoneal disease was malignant pleural effusion (39.6%). Of the 225 patients who underwent an attempt at surgical debulking, 70 (31.1%) were optimally cytoreduced. Most patients received platinum-based combination chemotherapy for primary chemotherapy. In multivariate analysis, performance status, histology, and residual disease after cytoreductive surgery were independent prognostic predictors of outcome. The overall median survival for optimally debulked patients was 32 months compared to 16 months for suboptimally debulked patients (P < 0.0001, hazard ratio: 0.415). CONCLUSION: Optimal surgical debulking, performance status, and histology appear to be important prognostic factors of survival in patients with stage IV epithelial ovarian cancer.     

Trocar implantation metastasis after laparoscopy in patients with advanced ovarian cancer: can the risk be reduced?

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine risk factors for trocar implantation metastasis after diagnostic laparoscopy in patients with primary or recurrent advanced ovarian cancer. STUDY DESIGN: Eighty-three women with primary advanced ovarian cancer and 21 women with recurrent ovarian cancer undergoing a laparoscopy for a tissue diagnosis and for assessment of operability were included in the study. The occurrence of implantation metastasis at the trocar incision scars was analyzed according to clinicopathologic characteristics. RESULTS: A recurrence developed at the trocar site in 7 (58%) of 12 patients undergoing a laparoscopy in which only the skin was closed at the end of the procedure and in 2 (2%) of 92 patients undergoing a laparoscopy with closure of all layers (odds ratio, 63; 95% confidence interval, 10.3-385; P <.001). The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage at initial presentation, tumor histologic type, tumor differentiation, maximal tumor diameter at the time of diagnosis, estimated weight of the metastatic tumor, residual tumor after cytoreductive surgery, surgical characteristics, and type of chemotherapy were well balanced among both groups. Patients with implantation metastasis had significantly more ascites (median, 700 mL vs 300 mL; P =.032) and a longer interval between the start of platinum-based chemotherapy or cytoreductive surgery (median, 6 days vs 17 days; P <.01) compared with patients without abdominal wall recurrence. A palpable abdominal wall metastasis developed in none of the patients undergoing a laparoscopy with closure of all layers of the abdomen followed by cytoreductive surgery or chemotherapy within 1 week after the laparoscopy. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with abdominal wall implantation metastasis had a survival rate similar to that of the other patients. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy with careful closure of the peritoneum, rectus sheath, and skin followed by chemotherapy or cytoreductive surgery with excision of the trocar trajectories within 1 week is safe in patients with disseminated ovarian cancer.     

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma: a retrospective case-control study

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been proposed as an alternative approach to primary cytoreductive surgery as initial management of bulky ovarian cancer with the aim of improving surgical efficiency and quality of life. The data of a retrospective case-control study including 75 patients with advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma Stages IIIC and IV are presented. In 20 patients, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (3-5 cycles of cytostatics) was applied before cytoreductive surgery which was followed by chemotherapy, six cycles in total. In 55 patients cytoreductive surgery was applied as the primary treatment followed by six cycles of chemotherapy. A comparison of both groups of patients showed no significant difference regarding patient age, tumor stage, grade and treatment modality (chemotherapy and surgery, without irradiation) applied cytostatics and total number of chemotherapeutic cycles. The data from our study confirmed a statistically significant difference in radicality of cytoreduction that was more extensive when applied in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy than when applied as primary cytoreductive surgery (p = 0.009). No statistically significant difference was found in the survival of the two groups (p = 0.79), the response to primary treatment (p = 0.52), relapse (p = 0.88) or disease-free survival (p = 0.61). From the findings of the study and literature review, we may conclude that neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma does not have an unfavorable effect on the prognosis.     

Diagnosis and treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer is a highly curable disease when diagnosed in an early stage. Unfortunately, treatment for advanced stage disease is mainly palliative. This article will review new developments in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer involving diagnostic imaging techniques and circulating tumor markers. It will discuss the current role of surgery in the treatment of the disease, including cytoreductive surgery, interval debulking surgery and surgery following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. It will evaluate the currently available chemotherapy treatments for epithelial ovarian cancers and present new developments in the medical management of this disease.     

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy or primary surgery in advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma

Abstract. Kayikçiōlu F, Köse MF, Boran N, Çalişkan E, Tulunay G. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy or primary surgery in advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been proposed as an alternative approach to conventional surgery as initial management of bulky ovarian cancer, with the goal of performing adequate debulking in the interval surgery. Two hundred five consecutive patients with advanced ovarian cancer were divided into two groups. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval surgery was performed in 45 of 205 patients. The remaining 158 patients received primary surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy. Optimal cytoreductive surgery rates were significantly higher in the neoadjuvant CT group ( P< 0.001). In multivariate analysis, only residual tumor diameter and appendix involvement were found to affect total survival significantly in both groups. Five-year survival and median survival were not statistically different when all patients treated conventionally were compared with all patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Primary chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery in a selected group of patients does not appear to worsen prognosis, but it permits less aggressive surgery and improves patients' quality of life.     

The position of neoadjuvant chemotherapy within the treatment of ovarian cancer

It is clear that primary debulking remains the standard of care within the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer (International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, FIGO, stage III and IV). Debulking surgery should be performed by a gynaecologic oncologist without any residual tumour load, or so called optimal debulking'. Over the last decades, interest in the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy together with an interval debulking has increased. Open laparoscopy is probably the most valuable tool for evaluating the operability primarily or at the time of interval debulking surgery. Neoadjuvant therapy can be used for patients that are primarily suboptimally debulked due to an extensive tumor load. In this situation, based on the randomized EORTC-GCG trial, interval debulking by an experienced surgeon improves survival in some patients who did not undergo optimal primary debulking surgery. Based on the GOG 152 data, interval debulking surgery does not seem to be indicated in patients who underwent primarily a maximal surgical effort by a gynecological oncologist. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can also be used as an alternative to primary debulking. In retrospective analyses neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery does not seem to worsen prognosis compared to primary debulking surgery followed by chemotherapy. However, we will have to wait for the results of future randomized trials to know whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery is a good alternative to primary debulking surgery in stage IIIc and IV patients.     

复发性耐药性卵巢恶性生殖细胞肿瘤的治疗

恶性生殖细胞肿瘤治疗关键是规范化,包括手术切除肿瘤、手术病理分期、术后规范化疗,强调及时、足量、正规,可争取90%以上甚至100%的持续缓解率。初次化疗不规范,病情可能持续不缓解或复发。对于复发性恶性生殖细胞肿瘤,再次肿瘤细胞减灭术有减轻瘤负荷的作用,为术后的化疗奠定基础。复发性卵巢恶性生殖细胞肿瘤术后的二线化疗也至关重要。化疗药物应个体化,化疗的疗程数也强调个体化,有阳性肿瘤标志物的患者治疗应持续至肿瘤标志物降至正常后2个疗程。无阳性的肿瘤标志物的患者治疗应持续4~6个疗程。无性生殖细胞瘤和未成熟畸胎瘤对再次化疗或手术仍有效,预后好。卵黄囊瘤则效果很差。卵巢胚胎癌及原发绒癌很少见,治疗经验少。     

舌下含服硝酸甘油倾斜试验诊断儿童血管迷走性晕厥的价值

目的 探讨舌下含服硝酸甘油倾斜试验(SNHUT)对儿童血管迷走性晕厥(VVS)的诊断价值。 方法 2001年3月至2005年5月在中南大学湘雅二医院儿童晕厥专科就诊或住院的不明原因晕厥(UPS)患儿143例，年龄4~18(12.10±3.03)岁，男58例，女85例。电动倾斜床直立倾斜70°行基础直立倾斜试验(BHUT)，并对其阴性者中的64例在同一角度直接给予舌下含服硝酸甘油片0.2mg，再次评价试验结果。用SPSS 11.0软件进行微机统计学处理。 结果 (1)BHUT阳性率29.4%(42/143)，其中女性占73.8%(31/42)；SNHUT 64例，阳性44例，阳性率为68.7%。SNHUT显著地提高了VVS的检出率。(2)出现阳性结果的时间：BHUT为(21.31±13.24)min，SNHUT为(5.41±4.23)min。(3)反应类型：BHUT及SNHUT阳性患儿共86例，血管抑制型83.7%(72/86)，女性占53.5%(46/86)；心脏抑制型7.0%(6/86)，均为女性；混合型9.3%(8/86)，女性占62.5%(5/8)。(4)副反应：舌下含服硝酸甘油64例，未见明显不耐受现象或其他副反应。 结论SNHUT能提高儿童VVS诊断阳性率，副反应小，使用方便，可在儿科临床推广。     

Multidrug resistance gene-1 (Pgp) expression in epithelial ovarian malignancies

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of P-glycoprotein (Pgp) expression in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer with regard to clinicopathological findings and disease prognosis. METHODS: Twenty-four cases diagnosed as primary epithelial ovarian malignancies, between 1993-1999, were enrolled in this study. All of the cases had undergone cytoreductive surgery and an optimal staging procedure. Following cytoreductive surgery, in 18 patients, cisplatin+cyclophosphamide, and in six patients, cisplatin+paclitaxel combination chemotherapy regimens were initiated. After six courses of chemotherapy, cases were evaluated by pelvic examination, transvaginal ultrasound, pelvi-abdominal tomography and serum Ca-125 levels for the presence of residual disease. Following this evaluation residual tumor was detected in 14 cases and secondary cytoreductive surgery was undergone. In ten cases without any clinical and laboratory confirmation of the presence of tumor, second-look laparotomy was performed. In 24 epithelial ovarian cancer cases, both in primary or secondary cytoreductive surgery, Pgp expression was determined by immunohistochemical methods. RESULTS: Following primary surgery, in 25% (6/24) of cases, analysis of tumor specimens showed presence of Pgp expression. In cases recurring after first-line chemotherapy, Pgp expression was not statistically different in regard to chemotherapy regimen (p = 0.098). Pgp expression in tumoral tissues after chemotherapy did show a higher Pgp expression than before chemotherapy (p = 0.016). No significant correlation was relevant between Pgp expression and Ca-125 levels, histopathological differentiation, histologic subgroups of tumor, primary and residual tumor sizes and overall survival. CONCLUSION: In epithelial ovarian cancer, Pgp expression has no effect on overall disease survival.     

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with primarily unresectable,advanced-stage ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is to report our experience and the feasibility of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer. METHODS: Forty-five patients with primarily unresectable advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer were treated in our center between 1995 and 2002 by platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Their files were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: At the end of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to RECIST criteria, 1 patient (2.2%) had achieved a clinical complete response (CR), 33 (73.4%) a partial response (PR), and 8 (17.8%) had stable disease (SD). Only 3 (6.6%) patients showed disease progression (PD). Surgery was performed in patients with objective response or SD after a median number of 4 courses (range: 2-6) of induction chemotherapy. A complete macroscopic debulking was achieved in 24 (53.3%) out of 39 patients in whom cytoreductive surgery was performed. For the entire group, median overall survival was 29 months. Survival was significantly improved in patients with optimal debulking compared to patients with persistent tumor after surgery: 41 months versus 23 months (P = 0.0062). Median survival for patients responding to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CR and PR) was 44 months compared to 27 months for patients with SD or PD after initial chemotherapy (P = 0.01). Neither treatment-related deaths nor significant toxicities were observed. CONCLUSION: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by optimal debulking may be a safe and valuable treatment alternative in patients with primarily unresectable advanced-stage bulky ovarian cancer. Patients with an objective response to chemotherapy or absence of macroscopic residual tumor after surgery have a better outcome. This approach is currently being tested in large, prospective randomized clinical trials.     

Intraperitoneal cisplatin-based chemotherapy vs. intravenous cisplatin-based chemotherapy for stage III optimally cytoreduced epithelial ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the survival between intraperitoneal cisplatin-based chemotherapy (IPCT) and intravenous cisplatin-based chemotherapy (IVCT) in stage III epithelial ovarian cancer with minimal residual disease (<1 cm) after primary debulking surgery. METHOD: One hundred and thirty-two patients with stage III epithelial ovarian cancer after optimal primary debulking surgery with minimal residual disease between April 1990 and March 1995 were entered into a randomized clinical trial in which IPCT or IVCT was administered at 3-week intervals. Patients in the IPCT arm received cisplatin-based (100 mg/m(2)) intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Patients in the IVCT arm received cisplatin-based (50 mg/m(2)) intravenous chemotherapy. The tumor response was assessed every 3 months. The hematological toxicity using the South West Oncology Group (SWOG) toxicity criteria was assessed. Catheter complications associated with intraperitoneal chemotherapy were also analyzed. RESULT: The estimated median survival in the IPCT group was 43 months (95% confidence interval, 34-54) and IVCT group was 48 months (95% confidence interval, 37-59). The hazard ratio of death was not statistically significant between IPCT and IVCT (hazard ratio, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.69-1.86; P=0.317). The frequencies of hematological toxic effects were significantly lower in the IPCT group than in the IVCT group. CONCLUSION: Intravenous and intraperitoneal chemotherapy are associated with equivalent survival in patients with minimal residual stage III epithelial ovarian cancer after optimal cytoreductive surgery.     

How to improve the optimal cytoreductive surgery in advanced ovarian carcinoma

Advanced ovarian carcinoma is a lethal tumour, and its standard treatment is consists of aggressive primary cytoreductive surgery followed by a chemoadjuvance based on platinum agents. We searched the Cochrane Gynaecological Cancer Group Trials Register of 2010, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE and EMBASE of 2010. We also searched registers of clinical trials, abstracts of scientific meetings, and reference lists of included studies. One of the goals of its management is to achieve the longest overall survival possible, and the most important survival factor is the residual tumour after cytoreductive surgery, obtaining the best surveillance in the cases where no tumour is left in the abdomen. To improve the cytoreductive rates in the actual management strategy, a change is necessary, selecting the cases not suitable for primary debulking surgery and adding, if necessary, procedures different than the ovarian tumour resection, like bowel resections, peritonectomies (particularly diaphragmatic ones) and splenectomies. This review pretends to understand why advanced ovarian carcinoma should be treated with primary surgery whenever possible and to rationate the use of extrapelvic surgical procedures. The improvement of surgical rates with these manoeuvres can determine the best management of our patients, without clinical complications.     

Debulking of pelvic and para-aortic lymph node metastases in ovarian cancer with the cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator

Six patients with metastatic ovarian cancer with extensive involvement of the pelvic and/or para-aortic lymph nodes underwent surgical debulking with the Cavitron Ultrasonic Surgical Aspirator. Intraoperative and postoperative morbidity was minimal. It is suggested that this technique may be used for cytoreductive surgery in combination with standard surgical techniques.     

Treatment of FIGO stage IV ovarian carcinoma: results of primary surgery or interval surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a retrospective study

The objective of the study is to determine whether surgery influences the outcome of stage IV ovarian cancer. The study design is as follows: From May 1995 to December 2000, 129 patients with FIGO stage IV ovarian cancer, recruited in 42 centers, were prospectively included in GINECO first-line randomized studies of platinum-based regimens with paclitaxel administered simultaneously or sequentially. In all, 109 were eligible for this study. Standard peritoneal cytoreductive surgery was defined as a procedure including at least total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, omentectomy, and peritoneal debulking. Surgery was considered optimal if residual lesions were smaller than 1 cm. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare survival. Initial abdominopelvic cytoreductive surgery was considered standard in 55 (54%) patients. Abdominopelvic surgery was optimal in 29 patients and nonoptimal in 26. Twenty-two (22%) patients had a simple biopsy, and 25 (24%) patients underwent substandard surgery. Twenty-two of these 47 patients without initial standard surgery underwent a second surgical procedure, and 17 of the 22 patients completed standard surgery. The median overall survival time in the entire population was 24.3 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 19.5-29.1 months). Patients treated without a cytoreductive surgical procedure had significantly worse median survival (15.1 months; 95% CI, 5.4-24.9 months) than patients who had optimal primary surgery (22.9 months; 95% CI, 15.6-30.1 months), nonoptimal primary surgery (27.1 months; 95% CI, 21.2-32.9 months), or neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery (45.5 months; 95% CI, 23.5-67.5 months) (P= .001). In conclusion, this study shows a significant benefit of debulking surgery in stage IV ovarian cancer patients who responded to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can help to select patients for surgery.     

正电子发射断层照相术在卵巢上皮性癌术后监测中的应用

目的 探讨以2-^18氟-2-去氧-D-葡萄糖（^18FDG)为示踪剂的正电子发射断层照相术（PET）在卵巢上皮性癌术后病情监测中应用的效果。方法 经满意的肿瘤细胞减灭术和术后6-9个疗程化学药物治疗后,临床上完全缓解6个月以上的卵巢上皮性癌患者13例,在随访过程中,进行了15人次（13例）的PET检查,及10个次（9例）的二次探查手术或再次肿瘤细胞减灭术。并将PET检查与手术病理检查及同期的CA125、B超、CT等检查进行了对照研究。结果 8例（9人次）PET检查提示的21处盆腹腔内异常高代谢病灶经病理检查评实全部为卵巢上皮性癌复发灶,阳性预测值为100%。而同期CA125水平异常升高的8例（9人次）患者中,盆腹腔B超、CT检查发现占位病灶各1人次;PET检查发现了多个B超及CT检查漏诊的0.5-1.5cm的微小癌灶。在PET检查阴性的6例患者中,1例进行了二次探查术,盆腹腔多点活组织检查未发现转移癌;5个未手术患者中,4例严密随访11-13个月未发现复发征象,1例于第9个月出现CA125水平升高,复查PET出现阳性病灶,并经手术病理检查证实为卵巢上皮性癌复发（该例已包括在上述8例中）。结论 在卵巢上皮性癌的术后病情监测中,PET检查作为一种无创检查手段,成像清晰、定位准确,可能成为早期诊断和定位卵巢上皮性癌复发的重要手段,并能为再次探查术或肿瘤细胞减灭术提供重要的信息。     

Up-date on cytoreductive surgery in the management of advanced ovarian cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer represents the most aggressive neoplasm of women genital apparatus with a total 5-year survival rate ranging from 17% to 35% if the disease is in the metastatic phase. Its aggressiveness derives from the fact that it is an asymptomatic disease until it spreads in abdominal cavity. Therefore, in 70% of the cases, the diagnosis is done when tumor is already in advanced phase (Stage FIGO IIB-IV). Data from international literature suggest that standard treatment for advanced ovarian cancer is optimal cytoreductive surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy platinum-based. However, in the last decades, many authors have described the enthusiastic results of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and interval debulking surgery. Griffiths, first, underlined the importance of residual mass after cytoreductive surgery as a prognostic factor. Currently, cytoreduction is defined optimal when residual mass is microscopical or absent. Nevertheless, surgery for ovarian cancer turns out to be a particularly aggressive surgery that needs an operator's remarkable technical ability and a cultural Background: Many studies demonstrated that the frequency of feasibility of optimal cytoreductive surgery also varies within the gynecologic oncology specialized centers. During the last few years, new technologies (such as Cavitron Ultrasonic Surgical Aspirator, CUSA, and argon's coagulator) and new surgical techniques have been introduced. Ovarian cancer turns out to be a particularly chemosensitive tumor. Its responsiveness has been the object of numerous studies and protocols in literature, such as European Organisation of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) trials.     

Splenectomy for optimal cytoreduction in ovarian cancer

A patient with recurrent epithelial carcinoma of the ovary undergoing cytoreductive surgery including splenectomy is presented. The role of extensive debulking surgery in ovarian cancer is now well established. Aggressive tumor reductive procedures including splenectomy may be indicated in patients with no prior platinum-containing chemotherapy.