SGO and ASCO Agree on Guidelines for Common Type of Ovarian Cancer

(August 16, 2016) While primary cytoreductive surgery followed by chemotherapy is the standard of care for newly diagnosed women with advanced ovarian cancer, newly issued practice guidelines suggest that some patients may benefit more from first-line neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and followed by surgery.

Last week, the Society for Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) jointly released evidence based recommendations to help inform physicians and patients on treatment options for the most common type of ovarian cancer. The guidelines for stage IIIC and IV epithelial ovarian cancers, which account for 70-80 percent of all ovarian cancers, recommend when to use primary cytoreductive surgery (PCS) versus NACT.

The recommendations, developed by both patient advocates and medical experts, differ depending on whether or not the disease can be surgically reduced to less than 1cm. Patients with stage IIIC or IV epithelial ovarian cancer associated with high clinical risk or a low likelihood of optimal surgical resection should receive NACT. Primary surgery is recommended for women with a high likelihood of achieving surgical resection to less than 1 cm.

To read the guidelines in Gynecologic Oncology, click here.