Ovarian Cancer: Primary Advanced and Recurrent Disease

Approximately 70% of patients affected by epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) are diagnosed with FIGO stage III–IV disease and 50–70% of them will develop a recurrence, after a median progression-free survival (PFS) of approximately 18 months. The 5-year survival for stage III and IV ranges from 39% to 17%, respectively. Treatment options for primary advanced and recurrent disease comprehend surgery (primary cytoreductive surgery or interval cytoreductive surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for primary advanced disease and secondary cytoreductive surgery for recurrent disease) and systemic therapy (standard and novel chemotherapeutic agents and biological agents).