Advanced ovarian carcinoma as a chronic disease: a case report and review
Natarajan, M.; Saravanan, S.M.; Elson, D.L.
South Dakota Journal of Medicine 56(12): 515-521
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0038-3317 PMID: 14733039 Document Number: 554646
Epithelial ovarian cancer is the fifth most common visceral malignancy in U.S. women, with the highest incidence in the sixth decade. There are often no early manifestations. Approximately 70% of patients present with advanced disease. Transvaginal ultrasonography is the single most useful test in the evaluation of a suspected pelvic mass. Treatment is based on the stage of the disease at presentation. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment. Chemotherapy is important in controlling residual disease following cytoreductive surgery and as neoadjuvant therapy in patients with advanced disease. The standard chemotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer is currently paclitaxel-carboplatin or paclitaxel-cisplatin. We present a patient who had an unusually prolonged survival after receiving ifosfamide-based combination chemotherapy. The data from the Sioux Valley Hospital USD Medical Center Cancer Registry also suggests that ifosfamide-based combination chemotherapy prolongs survival in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.