Shooting at the Moon To Improve Ovarian Cancer

Clinical Oncology News


....The algorithm recommends presurgical chemotherapy for patients in whom complete surgical removal is unlikely. Such patients typically undergo three rounds of chemotherapy, with responders then undergoing surgery.

Maurie Markman, MD, the president of CTCA Medicine and Science and a clinical professor of medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine, in Philadelphia, called the report interesting, but said other groups have attempted to develop similar ovarian cancer cytoreduction algorithms that have not gained widespread acceptance.
“The novelty of this particular report is that laparoscopic assessment with direct visualization of the cancer is included, which is almost certainly a superior approach to any external imaging strategy,” he said, adding that being able to determine whether other groups of gynecologic oncologists can replicate the results (including use of the scoring system) will be important.
“It is also critical to acknowledge that this report does not indicate the strategy actually improves clinical outcomes,” Dr. Markman said. “Rather, it may be possible to more critically define the patient populations most appropriate for primary surgical cytoreduction versus a neoadjuvant approach.”