Ovarian tumor: a review

Abstract

Ovarian cancers are the 7th most common cancers in women. It is found more commonly in elderly age group. The survival depends on the stage of diagnosis and many of the patients present in advanced disease when the prognosis becomes dismal. The dilemma is to differentiate them from benign disease so that the unwanted laparotomies could be saved. Biomarkers and radiological classification may play a role in differentiating benign from malignant and deciding on the management. There is no screening method to diagnose ovarian cancers and the patient presents with nonspecific complaints missing them in early stages. Optimal cytoreduction is required for better overall survival, progression free survival and response to adjuvant chemotherapy. Those women having history of breast, ovary, endometrial, colorectal cancers should be screened for malignancies and genetic testing is advised. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment followed by chemotherapy. Risk reducing salpingoophorectomy can be offered to women having BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers after they complete their family. The area of target therapies is the most recent and promising in treatment of ovarian cancer. They are coming in forefront when chemotherapy toxicity, drug resistance are big hurdles in treatment of ovarian cancer. With recent advances and understanding of the biology of ovarian cancer have led to clinical trials of targeted agents. The  angiogenesis inhibitors and polyadenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors are the most developed.