According to a recent article published in Gynecologic Oncology, a surgeon?s tendency to perform aggressive surgery greatly affects the rate of optimal surgery in patients with ovarian cancer.
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic recently reviewed data from patients with stage III ovarian cancer. The study included patients who underwent surgery between 1994 and 1998 at the Mayo Clinic. A large range of patients who were considered “high risk”, or those who had characteristics indicating a poorer prognosis, such as several sites of cancer spread, were treated with surgery achieving optimal cytoreduction. The rate of optimal cytoreduction depended on the surgeon?s experience with radical surgical procedures.
The researchers concluded that surgeon tendency to perform radical procedures greatly affects the rate of optimal cytoreduction in patients diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer with a poor prognosis. Although not all patients are candidates for radical surgery, individuals should speak with their surgeon regarding their individual risks and benefits of optimal cytoreduction.