Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women. Primary surgery, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is the basis of treatment for this disease. A standard treatment includes primary surgery and if possible optimal debulking surgery (tumor residue of <; 1 cm), followed by a chemotherapy; paclitaxel-carboplatin is the standard regimen in ovarian cancer. Given that the main method of spreading this disease is in the peritoneal cavity, the systemic chemotherapy brings about numerous complications; moreover, as the method of prescribing a drug inside the peritoneum causes a high drug concentration in the peritoneal cavity, conducting an intraperitoneal chemotherapy has been examined clinically. In cases of ovarian cancer recurrence, performing a secondary cytoreductive surgery, in addition to hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), has led to a good survival among patients. Currently, studies are ongoing to better explain the effects of this treatment method compared to previous methods.