How to reduce the chance of ovarian cancer recurrence

Ovarian cancer accounts for a high proportion in gynecology and can pose a threat to women's lives. Therefore, when people mention the disease, they become panic-stricken and don't know what to do. So how to reduce the chance of recurrence of ovarian cancer? Many patients and friends want to know this issue. Let's listen to the expert's introduction below.

(1) Complete removal of lesions During ovarian cancer surgery, the primary tumor and visible pelvic and abdominal metastases should be removed as much as possible, or the diameter of the residual cancer lesions should be reduced to less than 2.0 to 1.5. For epithelial cancer, the greater omentum and appendix should also be removed.
The treatment of intestinal metastasis is an important part of ovarian cancer surgery and one of the determinants of prognosis. For shallowly infiltrating cancerous masses, removal surgery is feasible; however, for those with larger masses or deeper infiltration, intestinal resection and anastomosis should be resolutely performed without any mercy. The transverse colon, sigmoid colon, and rectum are the most affected by intestinal metastasis or involvement. If there are still 8 to 10 rectums left after the sigmoid colon and rectum are removed, anastomosis should be performed as much as possible; if it is difficult to anastomose, or the tissue at the end is unhealthy, a colostomy is required. An intestinal stapler can be used to complete end-to-end or end-to-side anastomosis during low rectal resection, which is fast, effective, and can avoid the pain of colostomy. Small implanted nodules in the liver, spleen, and diaphragm generally do not need to be removed, but rely on chemotherapy to eliminate them; large cancerous masses should be removed as much as possible.
The lymph node metastasis rate of ovarian cancer is as high as over 50%. At present, most experiences have tended to lymph node removal as a component of tumor cytoreduction surgery. It is more beneficial to remove the retroperitoneal lymph nodes if the primary and secondary lesions can be removed. If the primary tumor or metastatic tumor cannot achieve cytoreduction, forced lymph node removal will not be beneficial.
(2) Adhere to long-term chemotherapy. Chemotherapy for ovarian cancer should be long-term and continuous, especially for those in the advanced stage and those who cannot be removed surgically. The medication plan is: the first year after surgery: one course of treatment per month; the second year: one course of treatment per month; the third year: one course of treatment every 6 months; the fourth to fifth year: one course of treatment every 6 months, and oral medication is often used.
The treatment should be changed according to clinical stage, tissue differentiation, thoroughness of surgical resection, patient response, etc. After 5 years, if there is no sign of recurrence, the drug can be discontinued. Try to avoid stopping chemotherapy midway, as stopping chemotherapy midway may increase the possibility of recurrence of ovarian malignant tumors.