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Is there a place for radiotherapy in the treatment of ovarian cancer, e.g. in patients with local recurrence or lymph node disease?

Małgorzata Klimek, Zbigniew Kojs

Affiliacja i adres do korespondencji
Curr Gynecol Oncol 2018, 16 (2), p. 75–81
DOI: 10.15557/CGO.2018.0009
Streszczenie

Of all gynecologic cancers, ovarian cancer is the most lethal. The lack of effective primary prophylaxis and initially noncharacteristic symptoms make ovarian cancer most often diagnosed in high stages. Most patients either have or are at high risk for intraperitoneal dissemination and are therefore not ideal candidates for locoregional treatment, such as irradiation. The 5-year survival rate does not exceed 50%. In the years preceding the introduction of platinum-based chemotherapy, and later taxane-based chemotherapy, radiotherapy was used as an adjuvant treatment. The techniques of irradiation of the entire abdominal cavity used at that time were burdened with significant toxicity. The results of studies comparing tolerance and survival after whole abdominal radiotherapy and chemotherapy did not show the superiority the former. The introduction of new cytostatics ultimately contributed to the fact that chemotherapy became the basic treatment after surgery and in recurrent ovarian cancer. The emergence of new radiotherapy techniques: intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), enabling precise modulation of dose distribution within the tumor or volume of high risk tissues, with simultaneous sparing of critical organs, have contributed to the re-growth of interest in radiotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer. Recent reports indicate usefulness of radiotherapy in patients with localized relapses, especially nodal ones, and as palliative care.

Słowa kluczowe
ovarian cancer, recurrence, radiotherapy