Ovarian Cancer: Primary Treatment and Approach to Recurrent Disease
This chapter provides answers to practice-based questions with case studies covering the new principles of diagnosis, classification, staging, treatment, and outcomes in the rapidly advancing field of ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer among women in the world and is the second most common gynecologic malignancy in the United States with an average age at diagnosis of 63 years old. Risk factors for ovarian cancer include increasing age, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, cigarette smoking, and infertility. Several susceptibility genes for ovarian cancer have been identified such as BRCA1, BRCA2, and mismatch repair genes associated with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer. It is important to understand treatment options for patients with ovarian cancer and how genetics and mutation pathways play a role.
