Quality of Life in Ovarian Cancer Patients Choosing to Receive Salvage

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death of women worldwide. Because ovaries are intra-abdominal organs, and as there is still no effective screening tool for ovarian cancer, the majority of patients who present are in the advanced stages of the disease (Carter et al., 1997). Surgical exploration is necessary to obtain tissue for histologic study, staging, and hopefully for optimal surgery. Combination chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel is the adjuvant treatment of choice for patients with high-risk disease. Therapy of refractory and recurrent ovarian cancer aims to palliate symptoms and improve quality of life. For platinum-sensitive, recurrent ovarian cancer, patients preferred combination chemotherapeutic regimens including carboplatin/paclitaxel, carboplatin/ weekly paclitaxel, carboplatin/docetaxel, carboplatin/ gemcitabine, carboplatin/liposomal doxorubicin, or cisplatin/gemcitabine. Possible chemotherapeutic regimens for platinum-resistant disease include topotecan, gemcitabine, liposomal doxorubicin and etoposide. Patients who primarily progress on two consecutive