Ovarian cancer is the fifth most frequent cause of death in women and, when related to the number of patients affected, the most common cause of death from gynecological malignancies. Recently, a number of new developments emerged. These refer to surgical as well as medical therapies and encompass the early stages FIGO I-IIA and the advanced stages FIGO IIB-IV. In particular, there were new findings on the significance of chemotherapy in the early stages as well as the significance of surgery in general, on the ideal timing of surgery in advanced stages, and new findings in the area of chemotherapy of advanced stages. All items are discussed in detail.
Copyright 2003 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg