What Is the Primary Surgical Treatment for Ovarian Cancer?

This protocol covers first-line surgical management of ovarian cancer. Surgery is the foundation of initial treatment and is performed by a gynecologic oncologist; the surgical plan is tailored to disease stage and individual patient circumstances, including fertility considerations.

Surgical approach — partial overview

Primary treatment involves surgical removal of ovarian tissue with comprehensive surgical staging and, where indicated, debulking of visible disease. The approach for most patients uses an open abdominal incision. The scope of surgery — including whether a fertility-sparing procedure may be appropriate — depends on disease stage. Complete cytoreduction of all gross disease is the central surgical objective.

The complete procedural algorithm, stage-specific surgical options, and cytoreduction criteria are detailed in the full protocol.

Instant Access to Structured Evidence-Based Regimens

References

Hysterectomy/BSO + comprehensive staging and debulking as needed
Unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (USO) + comprehensive surgical staging
Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) + comprehensive surgical staging
An open laparotomy including a vertical midline abdominal incision should be used in most patients with a suspected malignant ovarian/fallopian tube/primary peritoneal neoplasm in whom a surgical staging procedure, a primary debulking procedure, an interval debulking procedure, or secondary cytoreduction is planned.
Residual disease <1 cm defines optimal cytoreduction; however, maximal effort should be made to remove all gross disease since this offers superior survival outcomes.

View source ↗