Treatment of ascites in advanced ovarian cancer

Can women with ovarian cancer be treated? Yes, there are different treatments for different stages. There are many treatments, among which surgery is the most important means of treating ovarian malignant tumors. Unless the tumor is clinically estimated to be unresectable or there are contraindications to surgery, surgery should be performed first. There are three general treatments for ovarian cancer: chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and traditional Chinese medicine.

Because the condition is serious, treatment is difficult and risky. Surgical methods are divided into radical surgery and conservative surgery to preserve fertility. Radical surgery includes bilateral adnexa, uterus, omentum, appendectomy and pelvic and retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. For patients with extensive pelvic tumor implantation and metastasis, it is recommended to perform tumor cell reduction surgery as much as possible.

Chemotherapy for ovarian cancer: In the past, the academic community once believed that chemotherapy for ovarian cancer patients should be performed after surgery, but the latest research results have confirmed that after a clear diagnosis of ovarian cancer, patients in the middle and late stages can first receive a limited course of chemotherapy before surgery. Because ovarian cancer is generally discovered late, the tumor is widely distributed and large in size. If you want to completely remove it through surgery, it may involve other adjacent organs such as the small intestine and bladder, which will cause great damage. If chemotherapy can be performed before surgery, the surgical resection rate can be greatly improved, damage to other organs can be minimized, the treatment effect can be improved, and the patient can recover as soon as possible. However, some key issues should be paid attention to before treatment. First, the patient's ascites cells must be positive, that is, the presence of tumor cells is confirmed; second, the CA125 level must be high and sensitive to chemotherapy; finally, it is unlikely that the tumor can be completely removed by surgery. This type of chemotherapy is usually performed once every 3 weeks, and 1 to 2 courses of treatment are sufficient.

Radiotherapy for ovarian cancer: The radiosensitivity of ovarian malignant tumors varies greatly. Ovarian endodermal sinus tumor, immature teratoma, and embryonal carcinoma are the least sensitive, ovarian epithelial cancer and granulosa cell carcinoma are moderately sensitive, and dysgerminoma is the most sensitive. Radiotherapy after surgery can usually control the disease. Since ovarian cancer metastasizes to the abdominal cavity early, the irradiation range includes the abdominal cavity and pelvic cavity. The liver and kidney areas are protected to avoid radiation damage. Microscopic residual tumors or stage I tumors that rupture during surgery can be treated to improve the five-year survival rate. The disadvantage is that the abdominal cavity must be free of adhesions to ensure uniform distribution of radioactive isotopes, otherwise it can cause intestinal damage and lead to serious consequences.

TCM treatment of ovarian cancer: Ovarian cancer belongs to the category of symptoms and accumulation in TCM. The book "Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Various Diseases" puts forward the symptoms and death signs: if the accumulation lasts for years, the person will become thin and thin, the abdomen will become larger, and then die. If the symptoms do not change, the patient will die. This description is very similar to the cachexia, ascites, mass (symptoms) and prognosis of advanced ovarian cancer. TCM believes that the occurrence of ovarian cancer is due to insufficient positive energy and the accumulation of evil energy, which is pathologically characterized by deficiency of the root and excess of the symptoms. Generally, in the early stage of the disease, the main treatment is to attack the evil and support the positive energy; in the later stage, the main treatment is to support the positive energy and eliminate the evil energy. There are two main types of evil energy: qi stagnation and blood stasis, and dampness and toxicity; the deficiency of the body is mainly manifested as deficiency of both qi and yin.