Special features of radiotherapy for patients with advanced ovarian cancer

Advanced ovarian cancer is difficult to treat and has a high mortality rate. It is one of the malignant tumors that seriously endangers women's health. In terms of treatment, radiotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer has certain special features.

1. Radiotherapy is mostly used when surgery and chemotherapy are not effective. Like chemotherapy, radiotherapy has significant side effects. The skin in the treatment area may undergo burn-like changes due to radiation exposure, but these changes will gradually subside after stopping treatment. In addition, during radiotherapy, patients may also experience adverse reactions such as fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea.

2. After ovarian cancer metastasizes to the abdominal cavity, its sensitivity to radiation varies. Ovarian endodermal sinus tumor, immature teratoma, and embryonal carcinoma are less sensitive, while ovarian epithelial cancer and granulosa cell carcinoma are moderately sensitive, and dysgerminoma is more sensitive. Therefore, radiotherapy after surgery can usually control the disease.

3. Since patients with advanced ovarian cancer often have metastases to distant organs, such as abdominal metastases, the irradiation range of radiotherapy needs to include the abdominal and pelvic cavities. At the same time, attention should be paid to protecting the liver and kidney areas to avoid radiation damage.

4. Internal irradiation can be used in late-stage radiotherapy, but it should be used when there is no adhesion in the patient's abdominal cavity and the radioactive isotope is evenly distributed, otherwise it may cause intestinal damage and lead to serious consequences. Internal irradiation can make the abdominal surface reach a dose that is difficult to achieve with external irradiation. Its penetration is limited and it can be used to treat superficial metastasis in the abdominal cavity and residual tumors under the microscope.