Ovarian Cancer Prognosis

Interview with Professor Ignace Vergote
Chairman of the Leuven Cancer Institute

01.10.2011

Q. How is the prognosis for ovarian cancer?

A. Prognosis of ovarian cancer is very poor still, despite the advantages we have made in the past decades, because of the atypical symptoms, that's one thing. So the diagnosis is almost always made late, so most of the patients, three quarters, are in an advanced stage of disease. And the second thing is that the ovaries are organs which lie within the peritoneal cavity and the tumour often originates on the surface of the ovary, so often small cell groups fall from the ovary and with the peritoneal fluids, which we all produce about one litre per day, with this peritoneal fluid these malignant cells are transported all over the abdomen, to the diaphragm, to the intestines, to the liver surface and so on. So this means that because of late symptoms and because of this way of spreading, most of the patients have advanced disease which spread all over the abdomen.