The Key to Improving Survival in Ovarian Cancer: Better Screening of Women With Vague Symptoms, Leading to Earlier Diagnosis, More Effective Surgery

TO PUT THAT INTO CONTEXT... 

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Regular pelvic examinations and the use of cervical cytology have resulted increasingly in early diagnosis and high cure rates in patients with cancers of the vulva, vagina, and cervix. Comprehensive use of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations for young girls could soon make these cancers exceedingly rare. Prompt evaluation of postmenopausal bleeding will lead to the early diagnosis of most cancers of the endometrium. Only cancers of the fallopian tube and ovary remain difficult to diagnose at an early stage—which means that cure rates have remained lower as well.
Over the past two decades, there has been progressive improvement in the survival rates for patients with advanced ovarian cancer. This improved survival is due to an increased awareness that aggressive surgical resection of ovarian cancer combined with multi-drug therapy using combinations of taxol and platinum drugs offers patients the best chance for prolonged survival. Survival is directly related to the size and amount of disease remaining following the initial surgical procedure......