Dr. Boisen on Selecting Patients for Surgery Versus Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Ovarian Cancer

Michelle M. Boisen, MD, assistant professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, discusses selection criteria for upfront surgery versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced ovarian cancer.

Patients who are unlikely to tolerate a radical surgery with minimal morbidity or patients who may not be fit to receive adjuvant chemotherapy should not be considered for surgery, explains Boisen. Instead, these patients should be given neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Patients with stage IVb disease whose disease is not resectable in the upfront setting should also receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy, says Boisen.

If the resectability of the patient is unclear, diagnostic laparoscopy can be used to determine whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy or upfront surgery is the optimal treatment option, concludes Boisen.