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Outcomes Can Be Improved In Poor-Prognosis Ovarian Cancer

An individualized, interdisciplinary approach to patients with relapsed poor-prognosis ovarian cancer can make a significant positive change in outcome.

The kind of tailored treatment required is available in dedicated tumour centres, suggest Catharina C. Wenzel and colleagues from the Departments of Internal Medicine and Surgery, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, authors of this study.

Metastatic ovarian cancer is a disease with poor prognosis after cisplatin-containing first-line therapy. Although the second-line treatment options currently available can induce objective remissions, only rarely do they lead to prolonged periods of response. Thus, the best possible quality of life is the main goal for these patients.

These authors report on the course of disease in one woman, aged 51 years, with metastatic ovarian cancer.

The disease had relapsed to the liver, cisplatin-induced renal impairment, and bone marrow tuberculosis. Because of the severe co-morbidities and the poor prognosis - the woman had a life expectancy of less than six months - this patient had been rejected by two other hospitals.

These researchers suggest that despite poor prognostic factors, co-existing morbidity, and serious therapy-related side effects, it is possible to induce long-lasting remissions leading to sustained quality of life and ultimately to prolong the remaining life span in selected patients.

To reach such a positive outcome, it is necessary to tailor an interdisciplinary treatment approach to each patient's needs; such treatment approaches are available in dedicated tumor centers, these authors conclude.
Support Care Cancer (2002) 10: 81-83. "Relapsed, poor-prognosis ovarian cancer, individualized, interdisciplinary treatment approach, and quality of life: a case report"

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